ATLANTA — Indiana football fans know they have to pay close attention to see which Mendoza is under center once a game gets into the second half.
Fernando Mendoza won a Heisman as the starting quarterback, but his younger brother has received plenty of opportunities backing him up with the No. 1 Hoosiers (14-0) blowing teams out on a weekly basis.
Here’s what to know about Alberto Mendoza, the program’s No. 2 quarterback:
Indiana football backup QB Alberto Mendoza wants to compete for the starting job next season
Fernando, IU’s current starter, hasn’t made an official decision about returning to Bloomington next season or entering the NFL draft, but the tiny bit of uncertainty left vanished with the Hoosiers signing TCU starter Josh Hoover in the transfer portal.
That doesn’t mean Indiana’s coaches have moved on from the Mendozas.
Alberto told The Herald-Times at the Rose Bowl that the staff has kept him up to date on their plans at the position and he’s focused on eventually winning the starting job his brother once held down.
“They’ve shown they really like me and feel like I’ve developed really well, and think I can be a great player,” Alberto said. “Coach Cig has really emphasized that I have a really bright future.”
Alberto Mendoza had high expectations for the 2025 season as IU’s backup
Alberto worked hard to recruit his brother to IU even though it would push him down the depth chart. He knew how talented his older brother was and Alberto knew he would benefit from having an experienced quarterback in the room to learn from.
The Mendoza brothers have pushed each other to get better going back to their time as teammates in high school.
“Alberto probably switched to quarterback because he wanted to prove that he was better than Fernando,” their high school coach David Dunn told the IndyStar. “‘I’ll show you how to play quarterback.’ That’s how he’s wired.”
Alberto felt like with Fernando under center that he would actually get plenty of opportunities to play as a redshirt freshman.
“I definitely expected to play that much,” Alberto said. “We expected to blow out teams, that’s just the standard we had here. I expected my brother to throw five touchdowns and me to go in the game and throw two. That was the expectation.”
Alberto Mendoza was a one-time James Madison commit
Indiana football’s coaching staff landed a commitment from Alberto while head coach Curt Cignetti was patrolling the sideline for James Madison. The quarterback went from winning a state title to visiting IU within 48 hours as a former three-star recruit in the 2024 signing class.
Alberto was 26-2 as a two-year starter for Columbus High School in Florida, and had a perfect 10-0 record in the postseason that included victories in back-to-back state titles. He finished his career with 4,596 yards, a completion percentage north of 70%, 57 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Former IU quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri told Alberto he was a “hidden gem” in his class.
Indiana football quarterback Alberto Mendoza’s 2025 stats
Alberto threw for 286 yards on 18-of-24 passing with five touchdowns and one interception. He also ran the ball 13 times for 190 yards with a score. He played double-digit snaps in six regular season games with his most recent appearance coming in the Rose Bowl.
Alberto and Fernando Mendoza became the first set of brothers to throw a touchdown pass in the same game for the same team since 2015 (Brandon and Austin Allen at Arkansas) when they accomplished the feat in the final minutes of a 56-9 win over Kennesaw State.
The Mendozas then repeated the feat three more times in 2025.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
