Miami, Indiana and College Football Playoff
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Fernando Mendoza, who grew up in Miami, wasn't even offered a walk-on spot with the Hurricanes coming out of high school.
Fernando’s parents Elsa and Fernando Mendoza Sr. have witnessed his rapid rise to become a college football star and potentially the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Another part of the Mendoza family are Fernando’s brothers, Alberto and Max. Like Fernando, Alberto is an Indiana quarterback but serves in a reserve role for the Hoosiers.
Despite earning All-Dade County honors as a junior, Mendoza had a hard time getting power-conference programs to give him a legitimate look.
Fernando Mendoza had something to prove in his hometown, and he wasn’t about to let the moment slip away. The Heisman winner had a tough night early on. Miami’s pass rush spent three quarters making his life miserable.
In an essay she penned for the Players Tribune in December, titled "Dear Fernando," Fernando Mendoza's mother Elsa Mendoza shared that she became pregnant with him at age 25, after moving from Miami to Boston following graduate school.
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza led his team to become College Football Playoff National Champions in their win against the Miami Hurricanes on Monday night. Mendoza is a Heisman Trophy winner and is projected to be the number one draft pick in the NFL. But athletics isn’t the only field in which he excels.