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Fernando Mendoza capped off his final season at Indiana as a Heisman winner, national champion, and presumptive top overall pick in the NFL Draft. The quarterback has also attracted plenty of attention thanks to his distinctive personality, and he leaned into the meme by hopping on LinkedIn to share some thoughts on his title run.
People who find success as a college football quarterback tend to share a set of traits that allow them to thrive in that particular role.
A lot of those prerequisites are also things you’d find in the “Skills” section on a stereotypical LinkedIn file, including a propensity for leadership, the ability to thrive under pressure, and the capacity to problem-solve in a high-paced environment.
Fernando Mendoza certainly checked all of those boxes during his one and only season at Indiana, and the QB who transferred from Cal prior to the start of the most recent season led the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record and the first national championship in the history of the program while taking home the Heisman Trophy.
All signs point to him having a job lined up with the Raiders next season as the player who’s currently projected to be selected with the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and you might think posting on LinkedIn is not a priority for a man who is just a few days removed from winning a title.
However, that is not the case with him.
Fernando Mendoza had to know what he was doing when he posted about winning a national championship on LinkedIn
Mendoza attracted plenty of attention for his postgame interviews during Indiana’s title run.
The QB exuded some serious Tim Tebow Energy while routinely dropping the kind of buzzwords you’d expect to find in a corporate environment, and his mannerisms were particular to the point where The Athletic set out to answer the question in an article with a headline that began with “Why does Fernando Mendoza talk like that?”
“THE HOOSIERS ARE FLIPPIN’ CHAMPS!” 🗣️@IndianaFootball QB Fernando Mendoza was with @JennyTaft after winning the @bigten championship ‼️ pic.twitter.com/qNJBmXCSfW
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 7, 2025
There aren’t many situations where “corny” can be used without coming off as derogatory, but I mean it in the most complementary way possible when it comes to describing the essence of a dude who has done very well for himself while simply being himself.
I can’t even criticize his taste in music because it just makes too much sense for a guy who seems like he’d be gearing up to get a master’s degree in accounting if not for being the best quarterback in college football this season.
@jlab Passing the aux to Fernando Mendoza!🎧 #heismendoza #fernandomendoza #heismanfinalists #jlab #jlabplaymakers
It also works for Mendoza because he seems to be pretty self-aware, and he proved that was the case on Wednesday when he took to (what else?) LinkedIn to share some thoughts on his most recent accomplishment, which included a “If You Know You Know” reference to B2B sales that preceded some more seruious reflections.
Well played.