What Indiana Football QB Fernando Mendoza Said After Becoming Heisman Trophy Finalist

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza met with reporters Tuesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington to discuss being named a Heisman Trophy finalist Monday night.

Here's what Mendoza said during his 18-minute press conference before he heads to New York City later this week.

Q: On the opportunity Mendoza has Saturday night …

MENDOZA: I'm so blessed and honored to be in this position. It is a surreal feeling. There was a lot of speculation throughout the season and I was like, wow, that'd be so cool. But I know that going to this ceremony means so much for everybody here in Bloomington. It means so much for my family. It means so much to the team, especially having the opportunity to hopefully bring home the first Heisman in Indiana history. It means so much to so many people. So I think it's such a great kind of pat on the back for everybody over here in the city of Bloomington with all the support that they've given myself.

Q: I just want to ask about the process for you for the next few weeks. I was thinking you played the bowl game before, so you're kind of familiar with the sort of layoff, but you've always been really process oriented. You've always had sort of a strict regimen you want to stick to. Now there's award shows, you don't know who you're going to play yet in the Rose Bowl. Just how do you sort of approach the next few weeks as somebody who really values kind of that daily and weekly process, but maybe has to change it up a little bit now?

MENDOZA:Yeah, I've only had the experience to play one bowl game before and it was a December 13th bowl game. So it was very, it was a very short turnaround. However, listening to people with expertise such as Coach Cignetti, you know, and his mentor, Coach Saban, they've always talked about giving yourself a little bit of a break. And so Coach Cignetti, I follow his process as he knows and he's a head coach. He's given these two weeks as essentially bye weeks in which we're still working out, we're still staying sharp in our fundamentals, still staying sharp in my football IQ. And on my own free time, I will probably, and I will watch some games in Oklahoma and Alabama just to get a feel for personnel and not do an extremely deep dive. And as those bi-weeks, I'm sure I'll get bored and, you know, watch a little bit more than I should of each opponent.

However, this week I'm really just focused on cultivating the moments with my teammates, really soaking it all in, staying sharp on my fundamentals and strengthening that ball with my teammates.

Q: Fernando, you mentioned this was all kind of theoretical until last night. What was your process to sort of watch, did you watch the countdown show? How did you kind of the night unfold for you and like how many text calls did you get? Can you kind of take us through Monday night and what it was like when they were in front of us?

MENDOZA: I would say it all started when our team had a fantastic performance against Illinois. It was a dominant performance on defense, dominant performance by the offensive line and just dominant coaching performance as well. And after that, some of my friends said it to me like, oh, you know, you're in the Heisman race. And I was like, that's so cool. You know, maybe I can show my kids, hey, I was in the Heisman race. And fast forward to yesterday, my friends and I were all watching Monday night countdown. Shout out to Greg [Campbell] for letting me know that it'd be announced there. And we were watching the show and it ended up being announced. And it was such a great moment, a great feeling. And I got a lot of texts. However, it did not amount to, or even compared to any of the texts that I got, or I believe any of my other teammates got for winning the Big Ten championship. The Heisman's great, but the only reason I'm up for the Heisman is because we're 13-0 and we're Big Ten champs at the end of the day. So I would say that I did get a couple of texts, however, nothing comparing to when we beat Ohio State.

Q: Fernando, you were committed to Yale and then you finally get that power for offer. Do you think back and think how much different it would have been if you'd just gone to Yale?

MENDOZA: I guess shout out Yale, they have a really good talent recruiting department. At least I'd like to think so.It was funny because on my official visit to Yale, I took a picture with one of their Heisman trophies from a long time ago. I believe it was in the 30s or 40s that they had a Heisman. And they used it as a marketing prop, but I took it and it was kind of like more of a funny thing.Like, wow, look how cool it is. I get to hold the Heisman. And going back from the journey, it just speaks volumes that I couldn't have done this by myself. And I'm shining now, but only because there's so many stars around me. There's an analogy like, the only reason we're able to see stars in the sky is because the light reflects from all different types of stars. And I have so many stars around myself, whether it's my teammates, my coaches, my family, the support staff, that I'm able to shine now in this light. And I'm just so happy for everyone to be a part of this.

Q: Fernando, if there was a time machine to go back to Pee Wee football, what message would you give yourself then as older Fernando now?

MENDOZA: As older Fernando, I would love to make my Pee Wee football self faint and telling me to get invited to the Heisman ceremony. But I would definitely say, always stay optimistic through it all. My mother has been a huge inspiration for myself. I've seen her fight every single day and how she remains optimistic. Whether, you know, PT doesn't go as planned or treatment doesn't go as planned, she's always remaining optimistic. And I think that's something that I've carried through and been able to take from my mother as, you know, whatever it is, whether it's being a two-star recruit, whether it's having, you know, no scholarship offers going into my senior year, whether it's the troubles and tribulations through the transfer portal, it's always staying optimistic through it all. And I really believe that that optimistic approach and that ability to be nimble and adapt to the situations has really helped me get to this point.

Q: Fernando, you came here, you talked about coming here to challenge yourself, to be a better player, to learn from Coach Cicchetti. Obviously the Big Ten was the goal, the national championship is the goal, but was the Heisman Trophy ever a goal? Was it ever in your mind?

MENDOZA: The Heisman Trophy, evidently everybody knows the Heisman Trophy, is extremely iconic and it's the most prestigious award in all of college football. And at that point, honestly, always believed in myself. However, my goal at that point was just being the best Fernando Mendoza possible. And I actually hadn't told anybody this, but at the beginning of the year with Indiana, I saw the list of the top 10 Heisman contenders, and evidently I was not on there. And I was like, wow, I want to make a goal to myself and really, it'd be so special. And I prayed about, imagine if I could just make the ceremony, how cool would that be? I'd be able to take that for the rest of my life. And so now that goal has come to fruition, I'm able to share that with people, don't want to pre-share that. And it's such a cool moment. I thought of it, but it was a little bit more of a dream and kind of a long range goal or a goal that you reach a little farther than you think you could reach. And at that point, it's come to fruition and it really stems back to all the amazing people that have been here in Bloomington and really supporting the football team, whether it's the city, whether it's the fans or whether it's coaches.

Q: First you said you should win the Heisman Trophy, he said it's a no-brainer. He's also said with your preparation study, you might just be scratching the surface of what you can be. How did you learn to prepare like you do? And give us a few things that you're clearly, you feel you're clearly better at now than you were even six months ago.

MENDOZA: That's a great question. My whole thing is the best players are confident players. So to backtrack, how do you become confident? And it's preparing like no other. When I first got my first shot to start a high school game or first shot to do a college game, my whole thing is I'm gonna prepare like no other. I'm gonna prepare to essentially exhaustion. So I know whether the game goes fantastic or it goes terrible.

I'm gonna be able to lay my head on the pillow at night, sleep tight, knowing that I did everything possible in my power to prepare. And I think I've kept that process through every single game I've played, knowing to not live with regrets. And I think that's a, that's a big message that some mentors have given myself is live. You don't want to live on eggshells, but live on decisions that you will not regret rather than, you know, let's just say the party on a Thursday night, rather, 'Hey, let's study film,' even if it's on the offseason, just because I know, like, in the future, you don't have like, 'Wow, I wish I watched more film,' or, 'Wow, I wish I were to eat a little healthier, so my body can be healthier,' or, 'Wow, I wish I would have gotten to sleep earlier, so I'd be more rested and able to absorb all the information I'm getting from this amazing program.' And with myself, it's getting that and then also having a process with the great coaches around myself, like Coach Cignetti, Coach Shanahan and Coach Whitmer that have detailed is we got to do to be successful. This is what you didn't know to be successful. You don't want to be out there, have a analysis by paralysis. But at the same time, you want to know so much information that you're ready for every jab and every punch they give in order to play the best football possible.

Q: You talked about the importance of decompression. So whether you give yourself a day, a couple of days over this next couple of weeks to decompress, what does it look like for you to step away from the game? What do you do when it's not watching film or going out and throwing extra passes?

MENDOZA: Yeah, I would say decompression is extremely important. However, my decompression is really — it does have a lot to do with football. And I do promise this is not a cliche answer. I really do enjoy football all around, whether it's watching football, like last night, I was able to, despite the Monday night countdown announcement, I was able to watch the entire Monday Night Football game. And that was a great joy and pleasure because I just, I just really like watching football. And so whether it's watching some Oklahoma film or Alabama film or Monday Night Football, or there's a bowl game coming up, you know, I really do enjoy watching football. So I do a lot of that in my downtime. I'll hang out with a lot of teammates, just came back from dinner with some teammates right now. And, you know, have some more dinners and just hanging out with teammates after these next couple of nights. And other than that, I would say just, honestly, hanging out with friends and watching football. That's what my life consists of. And that's, I really have a lot of joy and get a lot of joy from that, from those relationships and aspiring to be the best because I know I have such a short window of opportunity here that I could do so much with. Why waste this opportunity? I don't want to look back when I'm 30 years old, like, ‘Wow, if I would have studied more, I could have been a better player.’ At this point, it's such a short window of opportunity that most people, and to be quite honest, like as a kid, I've dreamed about. So why not give it your all?

Q: Fernando, I know you've been focused on the task at hand along with your teammates up until now. But now you kind of are forced to look into the Heisman Trophy as you're heading to New York. Have you looked into the history and looked at some of the names that are there that you could possibly have yours next to? And then Joe Theisman actually changed his name to Heisman in efforts to win the Heisman. Any truth to the rumor you're actually changing your name to Heismendoza?

MENDOZA: So first of all, to address the rumor, I will not be changing my name. My parents and grandparents would be extremely mad at myself. However, you know, it is, you know, I do understand why someone would go to that lengths to do it. And there's no restrictions. Who knows, I might have changed my name to Heisman. However, my whole thing is to be present in the moment and focus on the task at hand. And last week was the Big Ten Championship. Although there was a lot of drama saying, ‘Hey, this Big Ten championship game,’ and a lot of the media was, ‘This Big Ten championship game could be for the Heisman. And I would be lying to you if I said I didn't think about it. However, at that point, the task at hand was preparing for Ohio State. Now this week, the task at hand is recovery, staying sharp on fundamentals and the Heisman ceremony as I'm leaving Friday morning, I'm going to be there in the weekend. It's going to be, I've heard, a fantastic weekend. So I've done my research on the Heisman. I got a pretty bad turf burn from the game. And the other night I just, you know, I had trouble falling asleep. So I watched, like, I would say around probably 10 Heisman speeches. And they're just all so great to hear, whether it's a Q and A or whether it's a speech itself to get research on it. And everyone's heard about the Heisman trophy and I've been a college football fan my whole life. I'm pretty sure I have a pretty good recall about all the Heisman Trophy winners in my age, but it's always great to hear about great Heisman Trophy winners from the past, some of their great speeches, and just to really research the topic because it is a present moment at hand and I want to make the most of the weekend. I want to make the most of the opportunity, whether it's meeting people there, whether it's a potential speech or whether it's just enjoying the opportunity with my friends and family.

Q: So on that, have you prepped a speech yet? And if not, what are some of the things that you kind of want to hit?

MENDOZA: Yeah, I don't want to get too ahead of myself. I mean, there's fantastic players, Diego, Julian, and Love. I mean, they're all fantastic players. I've actually never met any of them personally, but I really look forward to meeting them this weekend. And I think everybody, when you're a finalist, you got to prepare a speech because anything could happen. And I think my duty as a finalist is to prepare a speech. So I've started preparing a speech. It's definitely not a final product yet. However, anything could happen. And I'm sure that if any of those other names get called, whether it's Diego, Love, or Julian, they're all going to be fantastic speeches. So really looking forward to whoever's up there talking.

Q: Fernando, you mentioned before how the Illinois game was when you first started getting the text and being like, ‘Hey, I'm in the Heisman race.’ I mean, that's two, two and a half months ago at this point where you've been hearing that noise and you've heard the Heisman Doza chants and you've just kind of been in that spotlight. What have been the challenges, I guess, of being able to compartmentalize, you know, ‘I'm in this Heisman race, I'm hearing all the noise,’ and staying focused on the task at hand? How difficult has that been?

MENDOZA: It's been a huge challenge because with the pressure, it's a huge privilege to be a part of the pressure. However, when you see your name in the Heisman, you can see a lot of people maybe get complacent and go down and up in the rankings or depending on how they play or just team scenario around them. And I've been lucky enough to have such a great team perform that I've always been in a good position to win games. And that's what's helped elevate me to this position that I'll be on Saturday night. However, it has been a huge challenge. And I think that I really relied on, I have a mental performance coach, sports psychologist, and really leaning on him has been a huge part of this process as now that you're here, sticking with what got you here, the process, the prep, the never ending preparation, and all the different aspects of really taking it one play at a time, not focusing on the outside noise. And the also the coaches harping on those different aspects. And I think with all that is really helped myself get in a good headspace where I'm not focused on whether I'm the front runner, whether I'm second, whether I'm 10th, whether I'm 50th in the race, it's really all about the main goal, which is then elevated me to this opportunity.

Q: Fernando, yesterday when the players spoke with your teammates, all four of them, they seem to echo the message that you are their Heisman. Fisher literally said that. What was it like for you to see that in the media, or at least hear about it, that all four of your teammates were backing you like that?

MENDOZA: Yeah, it's such an honor as a teammate to have such great teammates. And I think that's what makes this team so special, is the glue that we have with each other, how tight we are with each other. And I really appreciate them campaigning for myself. It means a lot, not only as a teammate, but also as a friend, because with all those guys I have really good friendships with. And I would do the same for them in a heartbeat. But to hear that, it just shows the genuine authenticity of the relationship that we do have. As a lot of those guys, they're getting asked media questions, and they're kind of going out on a limb, campaigning for myself, especially an award that is so iconic, and it would mean so much. And I think it also just speaks to how much it would mean to the team. Not just myself, not just for, it would mean so much for everybody around this place. And I know Fish and all the guys doing media, it would mean a lot for them as well. Without Aiden Fisher making tackles on defense, without the special teams playing lights out, or without the offensive linemen or receivers also playing lights out, none of this would have happened.

Q: I guess just, you've dealt with a lot this past year with your family, just what's been the challenges of dealing with all that while also being able to lead this team?

Yeah, I mean, I think with all challenges, there's always an opportunity. And I think there's a great opportunity that presented itself was to put my brother here, not only to learn and grow with him, but then also make it an easy stop for my parents. We have a one-way trip instead of going out to California and Indiana, just an easy trip going to Indiana. And with all the challenges, I believe my family and I, we've all arisen to the occasion, similar to how the Indiana football team does in the football field. And it's been such an honor to have them as a support staff. And I really just can't give them thanks enough. And really just looking forward to not only the great season that it has been, but looking forward to the great postseason, meaning college football playoff, that I believe we're going to have.