The Indiana Hoosiers have proven to be the team to beat time and time again this season in the NCAA, due in large part to Heisman Trophy winner and projected top NFL Draft pick Fernando Mendoza.
Monday night’s National Championship game between Indiana and the University of Miami is a revenge game of sorts for Mendoza. Not because he used to play for Miami, or because he’s had squabbles with any of their players, but rather because of his connection to the city and the fact that the Hurricanes had no interest in him when he was being recruited.
Mendoza grew up within a couple miles of the University of Miami’s campus, and had every intention to play for the Hurricanes when he was looking for a landing spot for his collegiate career.
According to reports from the Miami Herald-Times though, Miami didn’t strongly pursue Mendoza when he was initially getting recruited a few years ago. They were hesitant to offer him a walk-on position, much less an actual roster spot.
“It lit a fire under me,” Mendoza said on his high school recruiting at the 2023 ACC Football Kickoff, according to the Miami Herald-Times. “I was sad, and then I came to a realization: I’m not going to be a Miami football player, but it wasn’t God’s path for me.”
Mendoza Passed Over For Carson Beck
Fast forward to last offseason, when Mendoza entered the transfer portal after three seasons with Cal Berkeley. Miami showed interest in him, but once again, the paths didn’t align for Mendoza to come back to his hometown to play. He ended up with Indiana, of course, while the Hurricanes grabbed Carson Beck out of the portal from Georgia.
Ironically, this year’s National Championship game is being held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the Hurricanes home stadium. Hard Rock is located within a mile of Mendoza’s childhood home.
Following Indiana’s resounding 56-22 win over Oregon in the CFP Semifinals, Mendoza spoke about what playing in his hometown meant to him.
“I’ve actually not played in Hard Rock before, but I’ve been to a lot of games there. And it’s a very full-circle moment for myself,” Mendoza said. “If you open Google Maps and put my address, the University of Miami campus, it’s under a mile away. And I walked there, biked there, played basketball [recreational] games in the offseason there.”
Mendoza, Indiana, Still Proving People Wrong
The narrative surrounding the Indiana football team this season has been that they would fail to live up to their high standards eventually. So far, that take has not come to fruition, as Indiana has passed every challenge with flying colors.
Not only is Indiana undefeated at 15-0 with a Big 10 Championship and two CFP wins under their belts, they’ve been doing it in dominant fashion. Only three of their 15 wins this season have even been within one possession, two of which were in the regular season against Iowa and Penn State, and the third in the Big 10 Championship against Ohio State.
They demolished two powerhouse programs in Alabama and Oregon in their first two CFP games, and yet, they still have more to prove on Monday night against Miami.
Kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
Like Heavy Sports's content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Fernando Mendoza’s Miami High School Connection: Did Hurricanes Ever Recruit Him? appeared first on Heavy Sports.
