Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, is passing on a chance to accompany his former teammates to the White House.
Indiana will take the customary visit to Washington, D.C., on May 11.
The Heisman Trophy winner was asked whether he would take the trip, and his answer incorrectly stated that as the start of the Raiders’ organized team activities. Their OTAs actually begin a week later, on May 18.
“I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here. I’ve got to prove myself,” Mendoza told reporters Saturday. “I can’t miss practice. I don’t have the calendar, but as a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look. I want to try to best serve my teammates, and I don’t know if that’d be accomplishing that goal.”
After all the hoopla following a Heisman, a national championship and becoming the top pick, Mendoza was eager to get back to it. All eyes were on him as he worked with some of his new teammates at the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend.
“Out of all those great milestones, I’m really happy about these past two days, because it’s back to football,” Mendoza said, via Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
