Fernando Mendoza talks about journey to the Raiders

It is officially a new era for the Las Vegas Raiders, who selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick on Thursday.

Arriving in Las Vegas, Mendoza made his first appearance as a member of the Raiders at Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, where he expressed his excitement about joining the Silver and Black.

“I’m officially a Raider. I’m excited to be humble and hungry,” said Mendoza.

What was clear from the beginning with Mendoza is how much of a student of the game of football he is.

During his preparation to make the jump to the NFL, Mendoza trained with former NFL quarterback Brian Griese, a fellow Miami native and current quarterbacks coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Mendoza also studied the West Coast offense that new head coach Klint Kubiak is bringing with him from the Seattle Seahawks in order to understand his new role at the professional level.

“I’m always trying to do my 1/11th in the offense. I believe it allows the quarterback to be a great point guard and with such a great scheme that coach Kubiak has. And I just want to do my 1/11th whether it’s hand the ball off, throwing, making a check, whatever it may be,” said Mendoza about his play style.

While Mendoza was linked to the Raiders ever since the Hoosiers won the national championship over the Miami Hurricanes, Kubiak was still impressed with what he saw from his new quarterback live and in person when they went to Indiana’s Pro Day.

“When we went to the Pro Day and we got to see Fernando [Mendoza] throw live,

and the way he ran that Pro Day, he bossed his teammates around, told him what route they were running and how accurately he threw the ball,” said Kubiak.

“Obviously, his stature, and then took him upstairs and talked football with him and just listened to him communicate the game and how quickly he picked things up. We already liked how he played the game on film, but seeing him in person was really helpful, and it allowed us to watch film on a lot of other guys. We knew we had the guy.”

While Mendoza’s new teammates have been quick to welcome him, the quarterback has always had the benefit of a strong support system from his family.

Mendoza made headlines when he announced that he would not be taking part in the draft festivities in Pittsburgh, instead choosing to celebrate the moment with his family. This includes his mother, who was in attendance for the press conference. Shortly after being drafted, it was officially announced that Mendoza was starting the Mendoza Family Fund, inspired by his mother’s battle with multiple sclerosis and the incredible bond between the two.

“We started the Mendoza Family Fund, which we were able to get a good donation to,” said Mendoza about the charity.

“Starting off and have [sic] been blessed in my journey and I believe one of my pillars and my identities is giving back and helping fighting MS, giving to the community. So, that was a huge part of my identity, and it’s something that our family really wanted to do."

Now, the journey begins in the NFL, where Mendoza is tasked with leading a Raiders franchise that has missed the playoffs for the last four seasons. It is a tremendous weight on the shoulders of Mendoza to become a franchise quarterback for one of the most storied teams in the league, but he is confident in his ability to be an answered prayer for the fanbase.

“I’m just really honored to be a part of this historic franchise, and looking forward to being a small part of the success in the future,” Mendoza added.