From a two-star recruit to the face of the program. Fernando Mendoza's time at Cal has seemingly come to an end.

The third-year quarterback penned a lengthy note to the Cal community Wednesday morning as he announced his plan to enter the transfer portal following his first full season as the Bears' starting signal caller.

"From strolling the glade, to sprinting across the grass of Memorial stadium, I have lived a dream, and I hope everyone can understand how grateful I am to have had this opportunity," Mendoza wrote. "After spending much time in thought, deliberation, and prayer with my family, I have decided to enter my name into the Transfer Portal. Every person is faced with decisions that inevitably shape their lives, and rarely do they lack gravity. But for the sake of my football future this is the decision I have reached."

You'd be hard pressed to find a better representative for a program than the Miami native who went from a third-string player entering the 2023 season to the full-time starter just a year later.

In every opportunity Mendoza had to speak with the media over the last three seasons, he made sure to mention his teammates and coaches so as to not let their contributions to his success go unnoticed.

In a tearful interview following Cal's Big Game win Stanford just a few weeks ago, Mendoza now famously mentioned going "98 yards with my boys" on a game-winning drive that helped seal the victory. It was exactly the same type of Mendoza the Bears got every day in practice.

"You guys are my brothers and always will be," Mendoza wrote in his farewell message Wednesday. "I know that you all will be great, and lead in whatever you choose to do, football or otherwise. The level of care, dedication, and brotherhood you all have for one another is unmatched, and I'm honored to have taken the field with you."

Mendoza shined during his first season as Cal's starter and passed for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions this fall. His absence in the final game of the regular season against SMU was notable with an illness forcing him to the sideline and the Bears struggling to move the ball on offense.

Since that game, Justin Wilcox decided to make a move at offensive coordinator and hired former Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin to take over the offense in Berkeley.

Less than 24 hours after that announcement, Mendoza is headed to the portal leaving Harsin to figure out who will now man the team on that side of the ball. He would have been Mendoza's fourth offensive coordinator in four years.

There will surely be options for the Miami native, likely even one for his hometown school, but for now the Bears will turn to Chandler Rogers who has made appearances throughout the season and will now man the offense in the LA Bowl in just one week.

The Bears will now be in a position where they have to find their quarterback of the future. Cal lost Rivals100 signal caller Jaron Sagapolutele on a flip to Oregon last week. With the news of Mendoza's decision to enter the portal, it leaves Cal with Ohio transfer CJ Harris and freshman EJ Caminong as the two scholarship quarterbacks heading into 2025.

Mendoza, meanwhile, enters the portal as one of the more promising players now available. Along with his passing yards, the redshirt sophomore is among the top 10, nationally, in completion percentage after completing 68.7% of his attempts this season for the Bears.

– OL Matthew Wykoff (Dec. 1)

– TE J.T. Byrne (Dec. 2)

– TE Nate Rutchena (Dec. 2)

– DB Brooklyn Cheek (De. 5)

– P Bobby Engstler (Dec. 5)

– WR Nyziah Hunter (Dec. 9)

– QB Fernando Mendoza (Dec. 10)