Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza spilled some details from his celebratory — and apparently quite innocent — Heisman Trophy ceremony afterparty.
Days after becoming the first Indiana Hoosier in history to win the Heisman, awarded annually to the top player in college football, on Saturday, December 13, Mendoza, 22, was asked: “What’s tougher: recovering from the Big Ten championship or a night in Times Square with your offensive line?”
Mendoza laughed and said, “That’s a great question.”
“They’re both recoveries, for sure,” Mendoza told reporters on Monday, December 15. “However, we know how to handle ourselves with class. We never get, like, obliterated. We always have a good time. We can always control ourselves. That’s one thing with us. It’s always a good time when you control yourself.”
Mendoza added, “We all just have a ton of fun with each other. It’s more about feeding off each other and having a good time.”
The quarterback admitted that catching up on sleep after a whirlwind weekend in New York City was “a little tough.”
“It was bang, bang, bang, bang, bang,” Mendoza said. “I was so overwhelmed by emotion the entire week. Meeting all the [Hesiman] winners, having an opportunity in the media to shout out my teammates and then ending up winning the award. It was a little bit of a mental recovery.”
Mendoza said 10 to 15 teammates traveled to New York “on their own dime” to support him at the Heisman ceremony where he triumphed over Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
After taking pictures with the Heisman statue in Times Square surrounded by his teammates, Mendoza partied at Elsie Rooftop with a group of more than 100 friends, teammates, coaches and family members, according to the Times-Herald.
“I think everything that Fernando represents, you see in the closeness of this team and how tight they are,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti told reporters after the Heisman ceremony. “I think a lot of that is an embodiment of him, what he’s brought to our team, a unity so to speak.”
As for Mendoza’s speech after his name was called, the quarterback approached it with the same work ethic he attacks most things in his life.
“I think it was my duty as a finalist to practice and rehearse a speech,” he said on Monday. “I rehearsed it and it sounded a lot better in the mirror and then I got up there and I was like ‘Wow, I’m really nervous right now.’ I started stuttering a little bit. But I’ve heard positive feedback from the speech.”
As the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming College Football Playoff, Mendoza and Indiana earned a bye week and won’t return to action until New Year’s Day.
“I think it’s great because our team has worked so hard throughout this season,” Mendoza said. “We’re 13-0 and I believe that we’ve earned these couple of bye weeks here.”
Indiana will face the winner of the Friday, December 19, game between No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Alabama in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2026.
