Former Berkeley Student Reveals How Heisman Winner Fernando Mendoza Outsmarted His Law Professor [VIDEO]
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
Fernando Mendoza might be the smartest quarterback that has ever come across the NFL once he gets drafted. That much was proven while still in college. Mendoza is coming off an electric 2025 season that saw him hoist both the national championship and the Heisman trophy as an Indiana Hoosier.
He now finds himself as the runaway favorite to be the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft after declaring last month. That means scouts and the coaching staff will be assessing not just his athleticism but also his attention to detail.
When it comes to the NFL, it takes a lot to understand a playbook. According to one of Mendoza’s former classmates, his future team will have nothing to worry about.
A former UC Berkeley student, claiming to have shared a contracts law class with Fernando Mendoza, has given him an even bigger boost. The unnamed young woman said that the professor of their class was notorious for giving student-athletes a hard time. “If you are a football player at Cal, there is, unfortunately, a stereotype,” she noted.
Unfortunately for that professor, he has never met someone like Fernando Mendoza.
Insane: A Berkeley law student reveals that Fernando Mendoza regularly stumped his own law professor in class.
Mendoza did not sit quietly and hide in class looking for an easy A.
This kid is an absolute superstar 👏 pic.twitter.com/XChhBd3aQT
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 2, 2026
“The professor would ask a law question and then ask one of the football players like, ‘Why is this, this?’ or ‘Why is this that?’ Fernando always knew his sh-t. Like, he would shut up the professor because he would be so impressed that he knew what was going on, and mind you, this is a law class at Berkeley.”
This shouldn’t be too much of a shock since his high school GPA was a ridiculous 4.86.
Fernando Mendoza is Most Certainly Going No. 1 In The NFL Draft
There is no doubt that Fernando Mendoza will be the first name called at the 2026 NFL Draft. If the Raiders don’t take him, it’s because another team has traded into their place to snag him.
Not a single QB-hungry team will pass on a talent like this. The Indiana Hoosiers quarterback is widely considered the top quarterback in the 2026 class. He is the prototypical 6’5″ pocket passer with accurate, high-leverage performance.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” last Friday to speak on interest in the No. 1 pick. According to Jeremiah, the New York Jets are the team to watch when it comes to a potential trade with Las Vegas to draft Mendoza. They are in possession of the No. 2 overall draft pick.
“I think the Jets would effort with all the picks that they’ve accumulated to try and see if they can pry that pick away from the Raiders,” Jeremiah said.
“The buzz down here amongst all the teams is there’s no chance the Raiders would trade off of that pick.”
New York enters this draft with significant capital, including five first-round picks and three second-round picks over the next two years. They are desperate enough to throw everything at the Raiders for Fernando Mendoza.
Jeremiah made it clear that the Jets are “100 percent” planning to make an offer. We’ll just have to wait and see.
