Heisman-doza! Hoosiers quarterback continues to shine as Fernando Mendoza wins IU's first-ever Heisman Trophy
It couldn't happen to a finer young man. Or a better quarterback.
He spoke with the earnestness of a Boy Scout, the innocence of a small child and the poise of a well-regarded politician. Fernando Mendoza, the first Heisman winner to make his bones at Indiana University, accepted the most important trophy in college football with the grace you’ve come to expect from the Hoosiers’ unshakeable quarterback.
Like everything else in his young life, this was no accident.
On the night the now-No.1 Indiana Hoosiers won the Big Ten title over Ohio State, Mendoza sat in bed in his hotel room and squirmed. His mind was racing, instant memories of the game and its aftermath playing on a constant loop. Sleep was not an option, so he popped open his computer and started watching something that would end up coming in handy Saturday night in New York City.
He watched roughly 10 Heisman speeches from previous winners.
Because of course he did.
That’s all you need to know about Mendoza, an All-American kid who happens to be a third-generation Cuban-American immigrant. Even Curt Cignetti, who normally throws around compliments like manhole covers, couldn’t stop showering him with encomiums. The Hoosiers head coach, the Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, compared Mendoza to West Virginia and NBA legend Jerry West, who was known as “Mr. Clutch.”
“Unbelievable,” Cignetti was saying before the ceremony that made it official that Mendoza had won in something of a landslide over Diego Pavia and others. “He plays his best football in the clutch moments when the pressure’s on.”
He did it in Iowa, a tough place for anybody to play, hitting Elijah Sarratt with a late touchdown pass.
He did it in Oregon, bouncing back from an interception and leading the Hoosiers to a victory over a Ducks team that never loses at hone.
He did in at Penn State, where he led a marvelous two-minute touchdown drive, punctuated by his pass, under duress, that was hauled in by Omar Cooper Jr., who tapped his toes inbounds in the back of the end zone and made one of the most remarkable catches any of us can remember.
