Fresh off leading Indiana to a historic national championship, Fernando Mendoza is being celebrated nationwide for his toughness, leadership, and clutch playmaking. But as the confetti settles, another side of his story has begun trending, and it has nothing to do with his game management or airborne touchdown.
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Long before becoming the face of Indiana football, Mendoza already had a resume with enough meat to impress even Ivy League admission officers. For starters, the reigning Heisman winner graduated from Christopher Columbus High School with a 4.86 GPA, taking an extraordinary academic load that included 12 Advanced Placement courses from grades 10 through 12.
Then in his senior year alone, he reportedly carried six AP classes, pushing his GPA north of 5.4 on a weighted scale. That academic profile initially led him to commit to Yale, where he planned to study economics before ultimately changing course. That pivot came after a visit to Cal, where Mendoza enrolled at UC Berkeley and earned his undergraduate degree from the Haas School of Business. Even that was not the end of it.
After transferring to Indiana, Mendoza took on an even rarer challenge by pursuing an MBA at the Kelley School of Business while simultaneously quarterbacking a national title contender. What makes his academic journey resonate even more is how disciplined and driven he has been about it. According to reports, the QB has said the only social media apps on his phone are LinkedIn and YouTube.
While most athletes his age are glued to Instagram and Snapchat, Mendoza often goes viral for updating his LinkedIn account with on-field achievements like winning the Heisman. So, after the National Championship win, fans have started to flood social media with disbelief and admiration about how perfect the 22-year-old is on and off the field.
“Kids going to be president someday,” one fan wrote. “4.7 is crazy for anyone, let alone an athlete. How much higher does it even go?” jokingly asked another.
Others, meanwhile, couldn’t help but laugh at themselves: “Damn, I thought it stopped at 4.0. My GPA was worse than I feared.” Regardless, the general consensus remained the same: “Wow. He’s impressive as hell.”
As things stand, it’s too early to compare Mendoza with any NFL QB. But when it comes to academics, he beats even the best, like Patrick Mahomes (3.91 GPA) and Carson Wentz (4.0 GPA), with absolute ease.
Mendoza is widely expected to be the No.1 Draft pick this year, with the Raiders being his likely landing spot. Now imagine an almost perfect disciple like Fernando getting mentored by Tom Brady of all people? Again, it’s too early to say anything, but the future looks very bright for Mendoza because he seems to be that rare breed of QBs, whose brain is as impressive as his arm.
