Who is Fernando Mendoza? What to Know About the 2025 Heisman Favorite

Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the heavy favorite to earn the 2025 Heisman Trophy after a successful college football season.

In his first year with the team, the redshirt junior led the Hoosiers to an unblemished 13-0 record and, with a 13-10 win over No. 2 Ohio State on December 6, its first Big Ten Championship since 1967.

He finished the regular season with 2,980 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

With the Hoosiers currently sitting as the nation’s No. 1 team, Mendoza will continue to lead Indiana through the College Football Playoff, playing the winner of the No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama matchup in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2026.

The Heisman Trophy ceremony takes place on December 13, 2025.

Keep scrolling to read more about the quarterback who continues to make headlines:

Mendoza started his college football career at University of California, Berkeley

Before Mendoza was taking the nation by storm at Indiana, the redshirt junior quarterback spent two seasons with the California Golden Bears. He earned some playing time his freshman season and took over the outright starting role his sophomore year.

He made his first career start in week 6 of the 2023 season – his redshirt freshman year – against Oregon State and immediately made his presence felt.

He started the rest of that season for the Golden Bears, finishing with 1,708 passing yards and 14 touchdowns in just eight starts.

By the next season, Mendoza was the full-time starter at Cal. During the 2024 season, he earned ACC quarterback of the week twice. His first full season as a starter saw him throw for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns, with arguably his biggest game of the year coming in an upset win over Auburn University in week 2.

After his impressive run at Cal, Mendoza transferred to Indiana University in 2025.

Named 2025 AP College Football Player of the Year after leading Indiana to Big Ten Championship

Thanks in part to the long-awaited conference championship, Mendoza earned the title of AP College Football Player of the Year, announced on December 11.

Mendoza earned 32 of the 51 first-place votes, making him the overwhelming choice for the award. The honor is voted on by media members across the country.

It surely helped that Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a 13-0 season, including wins over No. 5 Oregon and No. 2 Ohio State, and a No. 1 ranking in the national polls.

Mendoza’s younger brother serves as his backup quarterback at Indiana

It’s a family business at Indiana.

When Mendoza transferred to play for the Hoosiers for this season, he joined his younger brother, Alberto, on the roster.

Mendoza previously said having Alberto at Indiana was a key factor in his decision to transfer to the Hoosiers.

“I think having my little brother there, who’s my best friend and the person who pushes me the hardest, it was great to have that,” Mendoza told IndyStar in January.

Alberto saw some action this season, and threw his first career touchdown pass in Indiana’s game against Kennesaw State on September 6. That game was historic for not only the Mendoza family, but also college football as a whole, as Alberto’s touchdown pass – in combination with Fernando’s touchdown pass earlier in the game – made them the first set of brothers to throw touchdown passes for the same team in the same FBS game since Brady and Austin Allen of Arkansas in 2015.

His family is Cuban and he grew up in Miami

Family has always been a big part of Mendoza’s life. Both of his grandparents were born and raised in Cuba before moving the family to Miami. While Mendoza was born in Boston, he was raised in Miami as well.

Mendoza — speaking to Indiana University news website Peegs.com earlier this year — talked about the importance of family in his football career.

“Alberto and I play football not for ourselves, not for fulfillment and satisfaction of ourselves — we have a lot of whys why we do it for. One of the whys is our mom. Another why is our entire family. Our entire family comes from a Cuban background. All of our grandparents were born and raised in Cuba, and that’s something we always take deeply to heart.”