The 2025 college football season officially concluded with No. 1 Indiana’s victory over No. 10 Miami (27-21) in the College Football Playoff national championship.
The Hoosiers were led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza, whose one-year run as their starting quarterback was nothing short of extraordinary.
The 2025 Heisman Trophy winner guided Indiana to a perfect season, adding punctuation on the improbable result with an emphatic 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Mendoza’s heroics in 2025 have gathered the attention of many on the NFL level. He is widely considered the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, meaning his future will likely be with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Among the many celebrities in attendance for the College Football Playoff national championship game was retired seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady. In addition to working as the lead NFL analyst on FOX, Brady owns a minority stake in the Raiders.
Brady was inspired by the performance of what is likely his future quarterback in the national championship. He gave Mendoza a ringing endorsement on The Herd with Colin Cowherd after the game.
“He (Mendoza) played tremendous all season long- 16-0, leading his team. He’s another guy that when you hear him speak,” Brady said. “I always kind of judge quarterbacks, I go ‘How would I have answered that?’ He’s just a very mature young man. He’s got a bright future.”
While both Mendoza and Brady made significant accomplishments across their football careers, both were relatively unheralded quarterbacks at one point. Mendoza was largely overlooked in his recruitment process, while Brady was a sixth-round selection in the 2000 NFL draft by the Patriots at No. 199 overall.
“These young men- whether it’s Fernando or a lot of other players who were on the field the other night- they have a great opportunity to do something in their life to enhance their family’s life, to go impact their community in a positive way by playing great football and bringing joy to a fan base,” Brady said.
Mendoza worked his way into the position as an under-recruited freshman at California in 2022. He used his redshirt that season and did not see the field. He played in 20 total games between 2023 and 2024, passing for 4,712 yards, 30 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with the Golden Bears.
In his lone season at Indiana, Mendoza passed for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 276 yards and six touchdowns.
Mendoza received a laundry list of awards in 2025 in addition to his Heisman, including All-Big Ten First Team, Big Ten Most Valuable Player, the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, the Walter Camp Award, AP College Football Player of the Year and consensus All-American honors.
