Fernando Mendoza 'Wanted to Go to Miami in the Worst Way,' Says Indiana QB's HS Coach

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza would've stayed much closer to home for college if he had had his choice coming out of high school.

Having attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, the Heisman Trophy winner had dreams of playing for the Hurricanes.

"He wanted to go to Miami in the worst way," Columbus High coach Dave Dunn said to The Athletic's Grace Raynor. "He went there for all their camps and stuff like that, and they kind of said, 'Well, we'll let you know if we feel that you could walk on here.' And we never heard back."

Mendoza was a 2-star recruit and the No. 140 quarterback in 247Sports' composite rankings for 2022. Miami was far from the only school to overlook him that year. California was one of two FBS programs to offer him a scholarship.

Fernando Mendoza Heisman Reel

01:53

Winding up at Cal might've been much better for Mendoza's career.

The Hurricanes signed Jacurri Brown, a 4-star prospect, during the 2022 cycle, and Tyler Van Dyke was the incumbent starter coming off an encouraging redshirt freshman season.

Whereas Mendoza made nine appearances for the Golden Bears in 2023, he would've in all likelihood been stuck behind Van Dyke by that point. Not to mention, his presence may not have stopped Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal from targeting Cam Ward in the transfer portal ahead of the 2024 season.

"That Miami (quarterback) room would probably have been so loaded that I'm not sure if Fernando would have had that opportunity even if he got picked up on the team," said Mendoza's private trainer, Danny Hernandez. "I don't know if he would have had that opportunity to be thrown in those real, live reps (like he was at Cal) to really show truly how special he is."

Between his time at Cal and Indiana, Mendoza has emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in college football and potentially the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

The Columbus High connections to this year's College Football Playoff title game go beyond the Hoosiers standout. He's one of five players who attended the school, as did Cristobal and Hurricanes assistant Alex Mirabal.

"It's pretty cool to have that many ties to the national title game," Dunn said, per ESPN's Jason Jordan. "I coached all five of our players in the game. Coach Cristobal's sons are on our team. I worked with Coach Mirabal at Columbus and Marshall, and I had three of his nephews play for me. It's like a family. It's going to be fun to watch."

Miami quarterback Carson Beck has an indirect connection to Columbus as well, having beaten the Explorers in the 2018 state championship.