Fernando Mendoza
| No. 15 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  Sophomore |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 1, 2003 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Columbus High School |
Fernando Mendoza V[1] (born October 1, 2003) is a Cuban-American American football quarterback who most recently played for the California Golden Bears.
Early life and high school
[edit]Mendoza was born in Miami, Florida,[2] and is the grandson of Cuban immigrants.[1] He attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. As a quarterback on the football team, Mendoza completed 133 of his 203 pass attempts for 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns with four interceptions, while also adding 137 yards and a touchdown on the ground.[3] He originally committed to play college football at Yale University before deciding to flip to the University of California, Berkeley.[4][5]
College career
[edit]Mendoza earned his first career start in week six of the 2023 season, versus Oregon State.[6] He completed 21 of his 32 pass attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception, but the Golden Bears would lose to the Beavers.[7] The following week, Mendoza went 10 of 17 passing for 149 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, in a loss to Utah.[8] Mendoza was named the team's starting quarterback heading forward.[9][10] In eight starts as a redshirt freshman, Mendoza completed 63% of his passes for 1,708 yards and 14 touchdowns, leading the Golden Bears to a 6-7 record and an Independence Bowl appearance.[11]
Entering the 2024 season, Mendoza won the starting quarterback job for Cal, beating out graduate transfer Chandler Rogers.[12] In Week 2 against Auburn, Mendoza completed 25 of 36 passes for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns, leading the Bears to an upset win over the Tigers.[13] Mendoza was named ACC quarterback of the week in back to back games against Oregon State and Wake Forest, setting career-highs in passing yards and completions. His 56 passing attempts against Wake Forest were the most by a Cal quarterback since 2016.
On December 11, 2024, Mendoza announced that he would enter the transfer portal.[14]
Statistics
[edit]| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| California Golden Bears | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Redshirt
| ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 9 | 8 | 3−5 | 153 | 243 | 63.0 | 1,708 | 7.0 | 14 | 10 | 132.8 | 48 | 92 | 1.9 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 11 | 6−5 | 265 | 386 | 68.7 | 3,004 | 7.8 | 16 | 4 | 144.6 | 87 | 105 | 1.2 | 2 |
| Career | 20 | 19 | 9–10 | 418 | 629 | 66.5 | 4,712 | 7.5 | 30 | 16 | 140.0 | 135 | 197 | 1.5 | 4 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Villa, Walter (October 26, 2021). "Miami Columbus' Cuban-American quarterback finds a role model in Texas A&M star". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "Fernando Mendoza Biography". ESPN. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ "Fernando Mendoza Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Farudo, Jeff (February 2, 2022). "Cal Football: Quarterback Fernando Mendoza Makes it Official, Signs With Bears". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ McGill, Jim (February 1, 2022). "Bears Add Miami QB Mendoza to '22 Class". Bear Insider. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Faraudo, Jeff (October 8, 2023). "Quarterback Fernando Mendoza Provides Hope in Cal's 52-40 Loss to OSU". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Kroner, Steve (October 8, 2023). "Cal crushed 52-40 by No. 15 Oregon State but finds QB Fernando Mendoza". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Kroner, Steve (October 27, 2023). "Can Cal's Fernando Mendoza keep pace with No. 24 USC's Caleb Williams?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Kroner, Steve (October 8, 2023). "Cal coach commits to start Fernando Mendoza at QB vs. Utah". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Curtis, Jake (October 25, 2023). "Fernando Mendoza Says He's a Better QB Than He Was 3 Weeks ago". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ "Fernando Mendoza - Football". California Golden Bears Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (August 31, 2024). "Source: Cal to start QB Mendoza vs. UC Davis". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "California 21-20 Auburn (Sep 7, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ Olson, Max (December 11, 2024). "QB Mendoza entering portal after strong Cal year". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2024.