Overview
- A redshirt freshman in 2025, Alberto Mendoza served as Fernando Mendoza’s backup for 13-0 Indiana and logged extended snaps in blowout wins.
- He completed 18 of 24 passes for 286 yards with five touchdowns and one interception, adding 184 rushing yards and a score.
- He appeared in six regular-season games with double-digit snaps and briefly entered the Big Ten title game during an early injury scare for Fernando.
- Fernando credited Alberto with helping him master the playbook and thanked him in his Heisman acceptance speech.
- A former Christopher Columbus High School standout, Alberto went 26-2 with back-to-back state titles before decommitting from JMU to follow Cignetti to IU, and he and Fernando each threw a touchdown in the same game against Kennesaw State.