Fernando Mendoza is ready to take his game to the next level — thanks, in large part, to the support of his mother.
The Indiana Hoosiers quarterback, who was lightly recruited out of high school and started his collegiate career at the University of California, has officially declared for the NFL draft after a fairy tale season in which he won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to the national championship with a victory over the University of Miami.
His mother, Elsa, who lives with multiple sclerosis, has perhaps been his biggest cheerleader.
Mendoza, who called his mother “my light, my why … my biggest supporter” during his Heisman Trophy speech in December, continued to credit her while appearing on TODAY Jan. 23 when Craig Melvin pointed out how he has been an underdog throughout his football career.
“She’s the light of my family, the optimistic person that always makes sure that I have a smile on my face,” he said.
“And, like you said, I have been an underdog. However, my mom has never let me think that way. She’s always put myself as a top dog mentality, so I’ve always been very optimistic about my approach. And now, lucky enough, going from the underdog to a top dog, my mom has instilled that mentality in myself.”
Elsa Mendoza is certainly a proud mother.
“Your accomplishments will never impact how proud of you I am. Because you are already everything I could have hoped for as a mother,” she wrote in a letter that appeared in The Players’ Tribune before the Heisman Trophy presentation.
“ … And that has nothing to do with the miles you throw or the touchdowns you score. It has everything to do with the man you’ve grown into,” she continued.
Fernando Mendoza, who is the first Cuban American to win the Heisman Trophy, has nothing but love for his entire family, which remains close. One of his brothers, Alberto, was his backup at Indiana this past season before announcing plans to transfer to Georgia Tech after winning the national championship.
Another brother, 14-year-old Max, was on hand at TODAY for Fernando’s interview and revealed he would love to work in television. It’s a family that rides together.
“It’s the support and never-ending optimism that they have for me, my brothers, for the entire family. And it’s also the Cuban culture, and a tight knit-ness of everybody,” Fernando Mendoza said.
“If you went to the Miami game or you go to any Indiana Bloomington game, or any game that my brothers or I have played in, it’s a squad that pulls up. … It’s like the Mendoza mafia rolls deep,” he added.
Mendoza is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft, where Carson Daly’s beloved Las Vegas Raiders hold the first overall selection.
“I’d be blessed to play anywhere,” Mendoza said before Carson crashed the interview.
“On behalf of Las Vegas, I just want to say, should you end up with us, I’m sorry,” he joked, alluding to the team’s struggles in recent years. “If you can win more than three games, you’re a hero.”
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