Indiana football's Alberto Mendoza is eyeing Fernando's starting job
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
MIAMI — Indiana football starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza will likely be on the move at the end of the season to the NFL draft, but his family isn’t done with Bloomington.
His brother, Alberto Mendoza, wants to compete for the starting job next year after spending 2025 backing up his sibling. There’s plenty of buzz surrounding Alberto’s upside from both inside and outside the program.
“His younger brother is going to be as good or even better,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said while previewing the CFP title game. “And I think if you talk to the people over there at their university and at Columbus High School, they’ll tell you that.”
Cristobal, who is also a Columbus alum, played with their father, Fernando IV, in high school.
“Just really tough, smart, hardworking, awesome young men that represent their families and their university really well,” Cristobal said.
Here’s what to know about Alberto, the program’s No. 2 quarterback:
Indiana football backup QB Alberto Mendoza wants to compete for starting job
Fernando hasn’t made an official decision about his future, but he’s emerged as the consensus top pick in mock drafts and has little left to accomplish at the college level. The Hoosiers also made a splashy addition in the portal at the position by signing TCU starter Josh Hoover.
That’s not a move IU would have made if they expected Fernando to be back in Bloomington, but don’t expect Hoover to just be handed the keys to the offense.
Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan said the goal at every position is to add talent that will bring out the best of everyone and having an open competition between Hoover and Alberto should fuel their development.
“They’ve shown they really like me and feel like I’ve developed really well, and think I can be a great player,” Alberto said. “Coach Cig has really emphasized that I have a really bright future.”
Alberto Mendoza thrived as Indiana football’s No. 2 quarterback
Alberto worked hard to recruit his brother to IU even though it pushed him down the depth chart. He helped Fernando learn the playbook and get acclimated in Bloomington while benefiting from the Cal transfer’s experience.
Alberto was confident he would get plenty of reps just as Tayven Jackson did in 2024 while backing up Kurtis Rourke if his brother hit the ground running.
“I definitely expected to play that much,” Alberto told The Herald-Times. “We expected to blow out teams, that’s just the standard we had here. I expected my brother to throw five touchdowns and me to go in the game and throw two. That was the expectation.”
Alberto Mendoza was a one-time JMU commit
Indiana’s coaching staff twice made Alberto a priority recruiting target.
Alberto, a former three-star recruit out of the 2024 signing class, committed to Cignetti while he was still at James Madison. One-time JMU and IU quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri told Alberto he was a “hidden gem” in the class.
The Florida native ended up following the staff to Bloomington after going 26-2 as a two-year starter for Columbus High School. He had a perfect 10-0 in the postseason that included victories in back-to-back state titles and finished his career with 4,596 yards, a completion percentage north of 70%, 57 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Looking at Indiana football’s Alberto Mendoza’s 2025 stats
Alberto threw for 286 yards on 18-of-24 passing with five touchdowns and one interception. He also ran the ball 13 times for 190 yards with a score. He played double-digit snaps in six regular season games with his most recent appearance coming in the Rose Bowl.
The Mendozas became the first set of brothers to throw a touchdown pass in the same game for the same team since 2015 (Brandon and Austin Allen at Arkansas) when they accomplished the feat in the final minutes of a 56-9 win over Kennesaw State.
The Mendozas repeated the feat three more times in 2025.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football’s Alberto Mendoza pushing for Fernando’s starting spot
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos