Cal’s Fernando Mendoza, who has emerged as one of many nation’s up-and-coming quarterbacks, introduced on social media Wednesday that he’s leaving faculty and getting into the switch portal.
Mendoza’s stunning departure comes one week earlier than Cal (6-6) faces No. 24 UNLV (10-3) within the LA Bowl and was met with disappointment and frustration by Justin Wilcox. The Bears head coach mentioned he unsuccessfully tried convincing the redshirt sophomore to remain in Berkeley.
Mendoza had develop into a darling among the many Cal fanbase along with his effervescent persona andy gutsy play even earlier than rallying the Bears on a 98-yard drive to safe a dramatic Massive Sport win over Stanford final month and shedding tears of delight in his staff throughout the postgame interview. On Wednesday, he took to the social media platform X to elucidate his choice to enter the switch portal.
“Every person is faced with decisions that inevitably shape their lives, and rarely do they lack gravity,” wrote Mendoza. “But for the sake of my football future this is the decision I have reached.”
Mendoza was calmly recruited out of highschool, as Cal was the one power-conference program to supply him a scholarship.
After passing for 3,004 yards on a 68.7 p.c completion proportion, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza could have loads of choices for his subsequent faculty. The web site 247Sports mentioned the Miami product is just ranked behind Duke’s Maalik Murphy among the many dozens of quarterbacks now within the portal. Mendoza is somebody who evaluators see as “a high-end talent with NFL upside,” in accordance with 247Sports.
One well-liked speculative touchdown spot for Mendoza is his hometown of Miami, the place the Hurricanes will probably be shedding star quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward to the NFL after this season.
Wilcox mentioned no choice has been made on who will begin at quarterback when Cal takes on No. 24 UNLV subsequent Wednesday evening at SoFi Stadium. CJ Harris, Cal’s third-string quarterback, and freshman EJ Caminong are splitting reps in follow, he mentioned.
Chandler Rogers, Mendoza’s backup, can be the inheritor obvious in regular circumstances. Nonetheless, he was injured late in Cal’s 38-6 common season-ending loss to SMU and departed with a leg harm. His standing for the bowl recreation is unknown.
Attempting to type out his quarterback state of affairs a couple of days earlier than a bowl recreation wasn’t what Wilcox anticipated this week.
“We did everything we could do to keep (Mendoza),” Wilcox mentioned. “And, as I mentioned, these guys have just tough decisions to make. And I empathize with players in this era because there’s a lot going on. It’s very, very complicated.
“We don’t have enough time to talk through it and I don’t necessarily think it would be productive to talk through it.”
Mendoza’s impending departure comes in the future after Wilcox and Cal introduced the hiring of former Auburn and Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin because the Bears’ new offensive coordinator.
In asserting his choice in a prolonged publish, Mendoza took time to supply his gratitude to the college, his teammates, Wilcox and his workers, in addition to Cal followers in all places.
“I sincerely hope that I was able to make a positive impact during my time in Berkeley as a human being, and not simply as a football player,” Mendoza wrote. “I am forever indebted to you all for taking a chance on, and blessing a young man with an opportunity to live out his dream.”
