What Fernando Mendoza learned at Cal is guiding him through rocky Raiders start

LAS VEGAS – Fernando Mendoza finished his first preseason in the NFL, concluding with his Las Vegas Raiders’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday in the third and last game before the regular season.

He’d happily play three more.

“It’s been such a fantastic opportunity to grow through the highs and lows of training camp and preseason,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure.”

That might seem odd after a preseason in which he completed just 55.6% of his passes with more interceptions (two) than touchdowns (one). But Mendoza’s eagerness isn’t for show. He’s not just a No. 1 overall pick hoping to make a flawless first impression, for the world to swoon over his enthusiasm for the mundane.

Mendoza reached one of football’s highest peaks last season at Indiana in large part because he genuinely loves to learn. Those who watched his ascent at Cal – his only Power 5 offer – recognized his work ethic long before he would transfer to the Hoosiers and win the Heisman Trophy en route to their first national championship.

“Being in the building till like midnight or past midnight, and just putting in every single ounce of his energy into the preparation that it took him to have success on Saturday,” said Marshall Cherrington, who served Cal’s director of player personnel during Mendoza’s recruitment.

“He ran the scout team like it was his last game ever playing football. Like the passion and detail he put into that, I think it was just very clear from the start.”

Mendoza treats quarterbacking like a full-time job, literally. On his carefully curated LinkedIn profile that has garnered more than 283,000 followers, the latest addition to his resume reads: NFL quarterback, April 2026 to present. An update that puts into perspective what comes for most college stars right at their peak.

Now playing behind veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, Mendoza must prove again that he’s his team’s leader. The Raiders’ franchise quarterback.

He has plenty of experience in the prove-it category. A Miami native slinging it for Christopher Columbus High School, Mendoza got little attention from college recruiters.

Sure, Mendoza wasn’t the dual-threat quarterback schools desired. He could use his legs, but wasn’t particularly fleet of foot. His throwing motion was a bit robotic and his high school statistics weren’t standout – he was prone to turn the ball over.

But the Cal recruiting team knew they stumbled on something extraordinary.

“He was one of the most elite in that category of wiring, character, passion,” said Cherrington, who now serves as Cal’s assistant general manager. “He almost had an advanced level of work ethic and passion and understanding for it all, and just put in more time than anyone.

“You could tell he was different. We just didn’t know how different in terms of just the wiring and character and what he could become.”

The Bay Area watched Mendoza jump from Cal’s third-string quarterback to undisputed starter in a matter of months as a redshirt freshman, leading the Bears in 2023 to their first bowl game in four years.

Ask Mendoza how three years Cal prepared him for the NFL and his answers go far beyond Memorial Stadium. Studying business at the top public university in the country, every class was a football class. Every lesson, Mendoza translated it into his game.

His most impactful mentor is Stephen W. Etter, a professor of finance at Haas School of Business. The most impactful course he took: UGBA 191I Improvisational Leadership with Prof. Cort Worthington, he remembers precisely.

“Being able to improv leadership is something I’ve taken on the sideline where some situation happens that is adverse or great toward your team and you need to be able to lead,” Mendoza said. “There’s so many different situations that aren’t textbook situations because every second in our lives is different as we go on. So we have the improv mindset, and neuroplasticity to convert and convey the right message in the moment has been extremely successful.”

By his redshirt junior year in 2024, Cal was too small for Mendoza – though he managed to get his degree at Haas School of Business, he was off to the Big Ten dreaming of his ultimate pursuit.

Mendoza keeps his mind in his own universe, but the external expectations are different now. He doesn’t have to prove he’s worth a chance, but worth the hype.

Thursday’s preseason game showed flashes amid struggles.

Mendoza threw an interception that tipped off leaping receiver Jalen Nailor’s hands and into Tatum Bethune’s hands on his first drive. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak described the interception as a dropped ball. He completed just 7 of 14 attempts for 57 yards.

In the third quarter, Mendoza shed a defender, spun to evade another and scrambled for seven yards – just shy of first down. It was reminiscent of his fourth-quarter touchdown scramble on fourth down in the national championship game against Miami.

Another long journey to the top awaits. He’s shown he enjoys the trek.

“At Cal, I had a long way to go at that point,” Mendoza said. “I sat in the present moment, controlled the controllables and it led to great success there and being pushed by great people. Same thing here.

“There’s a lot of expectations but I have great people around me and I’m looking forward to learning and positively stressing my brain, my body and my emotions as I’ve done in the past at Berkeley and now here with the Raiders.”

There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.

This article originally published at What Fernando Mendoza learned at Cal is guiding him through rocky Raiders start.

Source link