Mendoza on 'optimistic attitude' ahead of draft
Presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza joins Mike Florio and Chris Simms to relive his epic touchdown in the national championship, discuss his positive attitude and break down the NFL draft process.
Video Transcript
All right, we're back in Indianapolis.
Joining us now- Here he is.
Man of the hour, man of the moment, man of the year, Heisman Trophy winner, presumptive number one overall pick, national champion, awesome play to score the game-winning touchdown, Fernando Mendoza.
Welcome.
Thank you guys for having me on.
It's a pleasure to be on the show.
No, man, we're- It's great to have you.
We're g- like, was that the coolest play of your life right there?
I mean, the, the, the play where you broke tackles and acted like Bo Jackson for about thir- three seconds there?
Yeah, and I'm definitely not Bo Jackson.
So God enabled me to do that.
It was just a great play, the way that my o-line blocked so tenaciously through the whistle, enabled me to make that play, and it was just such a special moment.
Yeah.
Are you thinking consciously in that moment how significant it is, like, what's riding on it, or is it just, "It's another play, just gotta go make it?"
Well, I'd be lying to you if I said it was, because it was a fourth down and five- Yeah fourth down and six, and at that point, the game's riding on it.
That's, that's a huge score spread, and if there, if we don't get that, then takes the lead in the fourth quarter, and we need another game-winning drive.
So at that point, I had to make sure whatever happens, I was gonna keep my feet driving and get that first down, and just happened to get pinballed around and reach it to the end zone for a touchdown.
Well, you're a much bigger person than people realize, too.
That, that, that's right Like, I, I have people all the time, like, last year they were like, "You know, how big is he?"
And I was like, "I don't Everything I hear, he's 6'5", 220."
They're like, "Really?"
Right?
So you're not the easiest guy to tackle.
Have you How many times have you Have you watched the game back?
Yes, I have.
You have watched the game back?
Okay.
TV version or film version?
Oh, film version.
Yeah.
Film, film version.
There's a lot of mistakes from the game that I wanna improve on, especially for the next NFL team that drafts me.
but it was a, it was a great game, and you can never be mad about winning a national championship.
No.
Give me one thing you saw when you were watching the film, and you said, "I gotta, I gotta improve on that next level."
I would say pocket presence a little bit.
You know, maybe step it up in the pocket a little bit more, or get a little more depth in my drops, depending on it.
Those d- d- those edges did a great job, Bain and Mesidor.
However, we have a great offensive line at Indiana.
I gotta help them out.
Yeah.
When you were at Cal, I mean, people were starting to notice you, obviously.
Yeah.
And then, of course, Cignetti saw you and was like, "Ooh, I see something there."
But who else was it between in that process?
Was it, like, Indiana and Cignetti all the way, or was there anybody else you were kind of flirting with a little?
Yeah, it was between Indiana and Georgia- Georgia which are great, great coaching staffs, you know, great history with their quarterbacks- Yeah and their quarterback development, and it came down to the last minute, in the 11th hour.
So, you know, I'm really thankful for both of those teams for recruiting me.
Well, well, okay, so I- this is where I gotta ask you this, then.
11th hour, and it's Georgia at the time, okay?
Yeah.
No disrespect to you, but it's Georgia and Indiana.
So what was it about Indiana where you were like, "Okay, I'm gonna go there?"
The way that Coach Cignetti really harped on the quarterback development piece- Man and the way that I- saw my younger brother, Alberto Mendoza, who's a quarterback for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets- Now he is, yes.
Right the way that I saw him develop in one year, it's like, "This place is special"- Huh "and I wanna be there."
That's interesting.
So it was through your bog brother and the stories he was telling you- Yeah.
and then, of course, Cignetti's magic touch with his words and all that.
That's awesome, man.
How do you deal with this notion that you are gonna be the number one overall pick, the Raiders are probably gonna take you, but you still don't know and won't know for a while, unless they've told you.
If they've told you and you want to tell us, we're, we're happy- we're happy to listen.
But, but d- give us an idea of what that mindset's like, as you're just waiting and waiting with this idea that you're likely gonna be the first guy to be drafted.
Yeah, I say likely in the media, but you never know what could happen.
There's so many different things that happen on draft day.
There's trades, and whatever team drafts me, I'll be more than happy.
And this is the most extensive and important interview of my life, so at this point, I'm only at the first stage of the interview, which is the combine, then I have the pro day, and then there's top 30 visits.
So I'm really trying to make the most out of the opportunity, and whatever team drafts me, whether it's pick number one or the last pick in the draft, I'll be extremely fortunate.
What's it been like so far, being in some of these meetings and going there?
Like, you know, g- ta- take people into it, to, like, what you go through a little bit.
Yeah.
It's I would say it's- It's different for a quarterback than everybody else it's different.
It's different than a quarterback for everyone else.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, the meetings I've been in, I've gotten grilled about some pass plays in the past, about recalling some different types of plays, and it's been a great opportunity.
I believe when the pressure's on, everyone's at, you know, on that room looking at you, watching you draw up a play or watching you talk about the play- Yeah, right that's how I like it, and it was I think that was correlated to the Indiana season.
Whenever the lights were bright, whenever the pressure was on, hey, at that point, there's no pressure.
It's a, what a great opportunity.
Pressure's a privilege.
Stay in that moment, stick to the fundamentals, stick with what you know.
Where, where did you get this just everything's great, awesome attitude all the time?
Who is it?
I, I got it from my mother.
Okay.
I'm a perfectionist- Yeah at deep at heart, so sometimes there are some negative thoughts- Yeah and negative words.
I told my mom, you know, she hit it out of me, said, "No.
No more of those words."
"If you want optimistic results, then you need to speak optimistically and have optimistic attitude."
What's the defensive coverage that you see that makes you want to have negative thoughts?
Yeah, you know, I would tell you, but I don't want any team - to watch it.
Good.
You, you guys are very watched show.
Nobody watches us.
Yeah.
You're fine.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
I wouldn't say it all the time.
You're right.
He struggles with cover too, everybody.
Yeah.
I, I was gonna a- first off, I wanna see how you grip the football.
Let me just check that out, okay?
Are you sure he wants that to- I wanna check that.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Okay.
Yeah, I want it out.
Wow- I mean, look look at that.
I grip the football like this.
It's something I've always, always gripped it, a little pocket.
Yeah.
Three and under five.
Three and u- that's rare that the pinky right there is on three.
There's not a lot of quarterbacks in football that do that.
You throw it- The pinky or the pointer?
The pinky.
The p- I mean, sorry, the ring finger.
Excuse me, the pinky under it.
Pinky, yeah.
That's right, but the, the ring finger- He went to Texas.
Yeah, you gotta, you gotta give him some slack.
I'm joking.
All right, all right, all right, here's another one, okay?
Because And, and I like That's interesting, though, that you're on three.
Yeah.
Um- Like Brett Favre.
Oh, yeah, Brett Favre was on three.
Brett Favre, yeah.
I, my Whoa!...
See, that's the kind of I like.
Student of the game.
I love football.
Student of the game.
I like- Well, not everybody's like that.
I'm not.
He was the only one who cared about this stuff.
The last person that really came on here that really knew stuff like that was Caleb Williams, just so you know.
Right.
So that- and to me, you're in good company there.
Yeah, and I, I actually did try to change it, too, this past summer.
Yeah.
And it was good.
However, I just feel like I have more control of the ball with, with- Just a little bit of- And I tried it for a week.
Yeah.
There were some good throws.
However, it was a little bit higher, but still a little I mean, it was a little lower over the floor.
Yeah.
So I was like, "Man, I'm gonna stick with number three.
That's what got me to this point," and I threw with number three all season, and I believe I was pretty accurate, so.
All right, we're gonna end the show here soon, right?
But I want you to finish this story.
And he's gotta go, too.
I know you've gotta go.
So it's all worked out.
But, what You're, you're the most perfect human ever.
No, I'm not.
What's the worst thing you've ever done?
No, I'm not.
Tell me the worst thing you ever done.
When did you get in trouble last?
No, there, there- When did you get in trouble last?
There's a lot of great There's a lot of not great things that have happened- and, things I've done.
However, you know, always looking to learn from those things, and I always try to be optimistic attitude, but, I mean, I'm not the best person ever.
I'm, I'm a s- you know, I'm religious, and I'm a sinner.
You know, my Lord Jesus Christ helps me every day try to overcome those sins, and But I would say a funny story is my aunt's and uncle's car, they're kind of our neighbors, and they're pulling in the driveway, and Alberto and I used to just pelt them with, with water balloons, pelt the cars.
That, that's, that's perfectly normal.
Yeah.
I like that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So.
Yeah, you, we do with snowballs, you know, up in the Northeast- Yeah we do stuff like that.
That's a good one.
Okay, good, good.
All right.
All right.
I like it.
Fernando's a man in demand.
We gotta say goodbye to you, Fernando.
Aw, thank you so much.
We appreciate you very much.
I appreciate it.
You're the man.
Congratulations- Good luck to you on your success, and we wish you all the best at the next level.
Thank you.
Can't wait to see what you do.
Appreciate it.
There he goes.
You blew me out of the r- water with the, the Brett Favre thing.
I'm just telling you, that was big time right there.
I appreciate it.
You're the man.
Thank you.
Big guy.
All right, and, we're gonna be wrapping things up here in just about 30 seconds.
Hang around.
Oh, he's gonna go?
Yeah, he's gotta go.
He's gonna go.
Go ahead.
He's gotta go.
Walk off.
He's gotta go.
Do your thing.
Fernando's gotta go.
See you again.
We're gonna get in trouble if we keep Fernando.
Yep.
All right.
I mean, that was, phenomenal.
That really was, and I'm not, I'm not joking.
Like, that to me- I mean, it's not like he said Patrick Mahomes.
He's going back 20 years- Yes with Brett Favre.
Exactly, and, see, Patrick Mahomes was a guy that knew stuff like that, and I know he was like that.
So yeah, you know, the, the ones that are really special and live it, and I'm not saying you don't have to be that way, they usually know stuff like that- Well, it means you're watching closely on TV- You're obsessed all the time to see where the hand is on the ball.
Exactly.
Exactly right.
All right, we're done.
