Fernando Mendoza completed his dream season on Monday night, leading Indiana to its first ever national championship.
The quarterback, who transferred from Cal in the offseason, elevated his game to the best in college football, winning the Heisman Trophy during the season. Then, he kept his play up in the College Football Playoff, helping the Hoosiers win three-straight games for the title.
Now that Mendoza’s college career is over, he is the favorite to go first in the NFL draft in April to the Las Vegas Raiders. If that happens, Mendoza will put his name in rarified air.
Here’s how Mendoza can make more history later this year.
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Heisman, NCAA championship and No. 1 pick
Only two players have won the Heisman Trophy, won a national championship and went first in the NFL draft in the same season. Those players are:
- QB Joe Burrow (LSU, Cincinnati Bengals)
- QB Cam Newton (Auburn, Carolina Panthers)
If Mendoza goes first overall to the Raiders, he will be the third player to do have three honors in less than a year.
Of course, there have been players who did all three of these feats in separate seasons, which includes Jameis Winston. However, Winston’s Heisman Trophy and national championship came in 2013, and he was drafted No. 1 overall 15 months later.
Other players who fall into that second category include O.J. Simpson and Marcus Allen, who both won the Heisman Trophy and national championships in separate seasons.
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Heisman trophy winners who won the NCAA championship in same season
| Year | Player | Position | School |
| 2025 | Fernando Mendoza | QB | Indiana |
| 2020 | DeVonta Smith | WR | Alabama |
| 2019 | Joe Burrow | QB | LSU |
| 2015 | Derrick Henry | RB | Alabama |
| 2013 | Jameis Winston | QB | Florida State |
| 2010 | Cam Newton | QB | Auburn |
| 2009 | Mark Ingram | RB | Alabama |
| 2004 | Matt Leinert | QB | USC |
| 1997 | Charles Woodson | CB | Michigan |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerfell | QB | Florida |
| 1993 | Charlie Ward | QB | Florida State |
| 1976 | Tony Dorsett | RB | Pittsburgh |
| 1949 | Leon Hart | End | Notre Dame |
| 1947 | John Lujack | QB | Notre Dame |
| 1945 | Felix ‘Doc’ Blanchard | FB | Army |
| 1943 | Angelo Bertelli | QB | Notre Dame |
| 1940 | Bruce Smith | RB | Minnesota |
| 1938 | Davey O’Brien | QB | TCU |
With Indiana’s victory, Fernando Mendoza becomes the 18th player ever to win the Heisman Trophy and NCAA championship in the same season. He is the first since DeVonta Smith in 2020, and eighth player to do both since 2000.
If you expand the list to players who won the Heisman and the championship in different seasons, players like O.J. Simpson and Marcus Allen are added to the list.
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How many Heisman Trophy winners were drafted first overall?
Since the Heisman Trophy was first awarded in 1935, 25 players have won the Heisman during their college careers before being drafted first in the NFL Draft. Since 2010, seven Heisman winners have ultimately been selected No. 1 overall, including Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow, Bryce Young and Caleb Williams.
If Mendoza goes first to the Las Vegas Raiders in April, he will join this list and become the 26th Heisman winner taken first overall.
