Fernando Mendoza
| California Golden Bears – 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 | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Columbus High School |
| |
Fernando Mendoza (born October 1, 2003) is a Cuban-American American football quarterback for the California Golden Bears.
Early life and high school
[edit]Mendoza was born in Miami, Florida, where he attended Christopher Columbus High School. In his high school career, he 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.[1] Mendoza originally committed to play college football at Yale University before deciding to re-commit to the University of California.[2][3]
College career
[edit]Mendoza earned his first career start in week six of the 2023 season, versus Oregon State.[4] 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.[5] In the following week, Mendoza went 10 of 17 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, but California would lose to Utah.[6] However, Mendoza was named the team's starting quarterback heading forward.[7][8]
To begin the 2024 season, Mendoza was named a starter at quarterback for the Bears alongside transfer Chandler Rogers, with Justin Wilcox planning for both to split time. In Week 2 against Auburn, Mendoza completed 25 of 36 passes for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns, as the Bears upset the Tigers 21–14.[9]
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 | 2 | 2 | 2–0 | 40 | 58 | 68.9 | 391 | 6.7 | 3 | 0 | 142.6 | 7 | 14 | 2.0 | 0 |
| Career | 11 | 10 | 5–5 | 193 | 301 | 64.1 | 2,099 | 7.0 | 17 | 10 | 134.7 | 55 | 106 | 1.9 | 2 |
References
[edit]- ^ "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.
- ^ "California 21-20 Auburn (Sep 7, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 7, 2024.