To Fernando Mendoza, his Cuban roots mean everything: 'It's a huge point of pride'

Cuba may be widely known for its talented baseball players, but in 2025, a Cuban-American will be at the forefront of Indiana football. Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza is set to lead the Hoosiers in their quest for back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances, and he plans to use his Cuban roots, just like he has his entire journey.

In an interview last week with NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach, Mendoza spoke on a variety of topics, but one that may have been the most telling was when he mentioned how important his Cuban roots are.

“It’s a huge point of pride,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza grew up in Miami, Florida, with two brothers, one of whom is fellow Indiana quarterback Alberto Mendoza, while the other is several years younger than both the Indiana QBs. Both Fernando and Alberto played football at Christopher Columbus High School, a school that had a large Hispanic population, Cubans being one of the largest groups.

Being alongside many Cubans in his home city of Miami allowed the Mendozas, and so many others, to embrace Cuban traditions, but Mendoza said that his grandfather was a huge advocate of his family’s history and heritage.

“Yeah, so my grandfather is extremely engulfed in history, our family’s history. He always sent us emails, texts. I mean, he’s the best about our family’s history,” Mendoza explained, adding: “all my grandparents were born and raised in Cuba, three in Havana, one in Santiago, and so I’m extremely grateful for all the hardship that they’ve been through coming over and the whole part of being an immigrant, starting from the ground up and really laying a foundation.”

With all of his grandparents emigrating from Cuba, Mendoza was able to fully understand his Cuban roots and embrace them to the fullest, especially due to the help of his grandfather, who he says he’s extremely grateful for.

While he said he was always appreciative, taking a trip to Cuba with his grandfather and Alberto really changed his perspective, Mendoza added.

“My grandfather and Alberto and I, and we went back, we saw some cousins who had ended up staying in Cuba, and just saw the community as a whole, and it was a very transformative experience,” Mendoza said. “It was very transformative and it really showed my brother and I how grateful we are for the opportunity that our grandparents took.”

MORE (On3+): Can Fernando Mendoza replicate Kurtis Rourke’s record-breaking success at Indiana in 2025?

This experience not only transformed Mendoza’s perspective on his Cuban roots, but, according to Mendoza, it may have shaped his football career as well.

He compared his grandparents’ move from Cuba to Miami to his decision to move across the country twice during his football career, once from Miami to Cal after high school, and now from Cal to Indiana through the transfer portal.

Mendoza mentioned how his grandparents took “a risk coming to the United States as they were extremely comfortable in Cuba. Similar to how I was very comfortable in Cal and took the risk to Indiana.”

While leaving your home country and starting a new life is obviously more difficult than moving to play college football, similar unfamiliarity and similar fears exist in both situations. While it may seem far-fetched at first, Mendoza’s grandparents could be the reason he ended up at Indiana.

Mendoza’s grandparents’ experiences certainly shaped not only how he grew up, but the trajectory of his football career, but his own experiences have made him who he is as well.

Mendoza shared a lighthearted story during the interview that, while simple at first, may explain exactly who he is as a man and as a quarterback.

As a child, Mendoza took mangoes from his yard, his grandparents’ yard and a friend’s yard and started selling them throughout his community. During this process, he not only built up his relationship with Alberto, but because he had to ask for the mangoes to use, he had to rely on his family and friends.

This is similar to how Mendoza will have to rely on his teammates on the field with Indiana but, again, Mendoza made the comparison between this situation and transferring to Indiana. He mentioned how having to ask for mangoes and then sell them to strangers was scary, similar to how moving to an entirely new program presents its challenges.

“Let’s just do it, but it might be a little scary at first to jump from Cal to Indiana, Miami to Cal might be a little scary at first, but just go all in and see what it gives you,” Mendoza said. “It was a fun experience. It was a fun experience, and I think that it definitely developed our character a little bit and got us into that overcoming the flinch.”

Through this experience of connecting with his community, as well as his family and friends, Mendoza says his “character” developed, allowing him to become the football player he is today, while overcoming fears of selling and understanding his grandparents’ hardship gave him the courage to transfer schools.

This wouldn’t have been possible without his Cuban roots, roots that Mendoza holds near and dear, as family is extremely important in the Hispanic community. This emphasis on family allowed him to have a great relationship with his grandfather, who was passionate about their Cuban heritage, while it also gave him a strong bond with Alberto, which will play to Indiana’s favor in its QB room.

Mendoza’s heritage, experience and character all led him to Indiana, as in 2025 he’ll be the leader of the Hoosiers and he’s confident that he can get it done.

“I want to be in the double-digit win category. And that is something that we all know we could do here. We have the team to do it, we have the talent to do it with the coach to do it, so we just gotta go out and do it,” Mendoza said.

With his Cuban roots guiding him along the way, Mendoza and Indiana seem like the perfect fit, as the QB1 looks to give Indiana fans the same pride in their football team as Fernando Mendoza does in his Cuban heritage.

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