Fernando Mendoza Admits Feeling "A Little Bit Guilty" About Exit

Former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza admits feeling “a little bit guilty” that his departure from Berkeley may have triggered the subsequent exit of players including running back Jaydn Ott and tight end Jack Endries.

All three found new homes after transferring — Mendoza at Indiana, Ott at Oklahoma and Endries at Texas. But Mendoza left first, announcing his entry into the transfer portal in December before the Bears’ bowl game.

"At the end of the day, I feel a little bit guilty because I feel like if I would have stayed maybe there would have been a greater chance of all three of us staying together because of that connection we had," Mendoza said in an interview with CBS Sports.

"We're in the huddle Jaydn talking to Jack, I'm talking to Jack, we're all talking to each other as a core leadership group. But at the same moment we're all still good friends and we all wish Cal the best. It feels a little sad that something we helped to build kind of crumbled a little bit.”

Fernando Mendoza at Cal | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Mendoza, whose only FBS scholarship offer came from Cal, had a breakout season as a redshirt sophomore last fall, passing for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns.

But during his interview with Jack Talty, Mendoza expressed frustration over the Bears’ 2024 season, in which they they lost four consecutive games by a total of nine points after starting the season 3-0. Cal finished at 6-7 after a 24-13 defeat to UNLV — after Mendoza departed — in the LA Bowl.

"We had a ton of heartbreaking losses to a point that was back-breaking for some people such as myself," Mendoza said. "I think the nature of the Cal team, this version, would be extremely different if we had won that game.

"We played and we lost on the last second. We played Miami and we lost on the last second. We lost to Pitt in the last minute of the game. And then we played where we lost in the last minute of the game. Those four back-to-back-to-back-to-back losses that's 3-0 to 3-4. That was back-breaking.”

Mendoza ultimately decided that for his long-term future — the NFL — he would be better served to play on a team with an offense-minded coaching staff. He believes he found that at Indiana, led by head coach Curt Cignetti — who led the Hoosiers to an 11-2 record in his debut season last fall — and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan.

Mendoza will replace Kurtis Rourke, a one-year transfer from Ohio, who passed for 3,042 yards and 29 touchdowns and wound up ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting last season.

"To have an offensive-minded coaching staff was extremely important for me and to get that development was really important for me." Mendoza said.

"Because whenever I would talk to people -- former coaches, mentors -- they were like we really think you're doing well but to take that next level and really get where you want to go . . . aka the NFL, you really need to be a bit more polished and more consistent. That was a big thing I was looking to accomplish at Indiana.”

Cal came out of spring practice with as many as three quarterbacks still competing for the No. 1 job — Ohio State transfer Devin Brown, freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and redshirt freshman EJ Caminong.

Indiana fared well in the spring transfer portal, adding offensive linemen and Cal transfer Jonathan Brady at wide receiver.

The Hoosiers were ranked 17th last month in ESPN’s early preseason top-25 rankings for 2025.

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