QB Fernando Mendoza goes in-depth on his Cal commitment
Cal picked up a commitment from 2022 quarterback Fernando Mendoza on Tuesday, completing a bit of a whirlwind recruitment for the prospect out of Miami, Fla., who had previously been committed to Yale.
Mendoza, who is rated a two-star prospect, felt the pandemic and the prolonged recruiting dead period last year really limited his recruiting exposure, but somehow all the way across the country the Golden Bears staff took notice and went all-in on the QB over the last month.
An official visit last weekend sealed the deal, leading to his announcement Tuesday.
"For me it doesn't really matter what time it happens in the recruiting process, all that matters is that all my questions about the university and program got answered, and especially with the official visit and all the questions I asked and all the information I gathered from online resources it was enough for me to make a really good decision," Mendoza told Golden Bear Report.
So how did this all come together? Mendoza starts at the beginning, recounting his recruiting process and the wild last month that got him to this finish line.
"From the start, I started getting some interest from schools such as Georgia Tech, Louisville, Maryland. However, as the recruiting process went on with the shortened season junior year, after junior year I ended up with mostly offers from FCS schools, such as the Ivy League, Yale, where I committed," he said. "However, through the camp circuit I gained a lot of attention and coaches following and having good performances, so I gained a couple of FBS offers. I got in warm talks with FAU -- never officially offered -- I got an offer from FIU and then ... after the season I was in talks with Alabama for a preferred walk-on, Cal and then a couple other schools who popped up late, nothing was official, a couple other FBS schools on the East Coast that wanted me to flip.
"After talks with all the coaches, I really felt I was the most like-minded with [Cal offensive coordinator/QBs coach Bill] Musgrave in offensive [philosophy] and IQ and everything in that aspect, so therefore I decided to pursue that path and see where it would take me, and it's been such a blessing."
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