Why Fernando Mendoza Won't Throw at NFL Combine, Waiting for Indiana Football Pro Day

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football fans won't get the chance to see Fernando Mendoza spin passes one final time before entering the NFL.

Mendoza won't throw at the NFL Scouting Combine, which begins Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news.

However, Mendoza will participate in Indiana's Pro Day, set to take place April 1 in Bloomington. Mendoza, Schefter said, wants to help showcase the talents of his Indiana teammates, be it receivers Elijah Sarratt, Omar Cooper Jr. and E.J. Williams Jr., tight ends Riley Nowakowski and Holden Staes or running backs Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black.

Mendoza previously alluded to his decision in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show during Super Bowl week.

"At the combine, you're throwing to different receivers. It's a whole different thing," Mendoza said. "And I want to make sure I give my guys the best chance. I want to throw at pro day with my guys, with my running backs and be there with the boys.

Mendoza, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, said he didn't think throwing at the combine would be a priority. He cited the length of the Hoosiers' season — they went 16-0 and, after starting fall camp July 30, capped the campaign with a national championship victory Jan. 19 — as the primary reason.

"It's such a quick turnaround," Mendoza said. "January 19th? I mean, I felt bad, like a lot of our guys on our team. Luckily, I'm in a better position that I don't got to throw in the combine, but a lot of our guys — we had Kaelon Black play in the Senior Bowl. Game 17. That's a true NFL season."

Mendoza spent only one season in Bloomington, but he forever etched his name into Hoosier history. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal caller became the program's first Heisman Trophy winner, second Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and collected significant hardware — he won the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award and Manning Award, along with numerous All-Big Ten and All-American honors.

The Miami native guided Indiana to its first national championship in program history, and he's now in line to be the first Hoosier to be selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft, which runs April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.

And while Mendoza won't participate in the on-field portion of the NFL Combine — quarterbacks will test and throw Saturday — the week itself will remain busy. He'll meet with NFL teams and have media availabilities, all the while soaking in an event he's long watched from afar.

"I really look forward to the Combine," Mendoza said Jan. 30 after winning the Manning Award, "because I've always watched it on TV growing up. Being a big NFL Network junkie, just sitting on the couch and watching those highlights and watching the reruns of the Combine."

But Indiana's Pro Day may mean more to Mendoza, who views the moment as one final chance to throw, and compete, with the teammates who helped change his life — and the Hoosiers' record book — over the past year.

"The national championship was kind of like last hurrah with the IU teammates at the IU Pro Day," Mendoza said. "And it's going to be great to see them again after what's going to feel like an eternity, but it's only a two-month period."

Indiana fans still have plenty of reason to attend the NFL Combine on Saturday, when Sarratt, Cooper and Hemby will go through drills in front of scouts, coaches and front office executives. The event is free to enter.

Mendoza figures to be present on the field — watching, evaluating and cheering on his past teammates — but he'll save his show for the Hoosiers' Pro Day.