‘Going Great’ -- Anticipation Grows for Mendoza and Hoosiers
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Elijah Sarratt has seen it, benefited from it, although in limited doses, the arm talent and leadership skills of new Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and what it could mean for another potentially explosive Hoosier offense.
Sarratt, a game-breaking senior receiver seeking another defining season, worked with Mendoza last spring and over the summer. The goal is to get in total sync with the University of California transfer, just as Sarratt did last year with quarterback Kurtis Rourke, just as he’s done with anyone who’s ever thrown him the ball.
“His arm talent is great,” Sarratt says of Mendoza. “It’s one of the best in the nation. Anticipation-wise, it is going great.”
Come Wednesday, with the start of fall camp, anticipation and intensity will soar. Much of the focus as IU prepares for its Aug. 30 season opener against Old Dominion will be on Mendoza, who last year at California threw for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
“He was new to the offense (this spring),” Sarratt says, “so sometimes things would be late, but for the most part he has been looking really good. This summer, I could tell he has been putting the time in with the playbook and watching film ... He's been looking smooth.”
Sarratt knows all about smooth-looking quarterbacks given he’s earned all-conference honors at three different schools -- IU, James Madison and Saint Francis -- while totaling 177 catches for 2,847 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Sarratt says that Mendoza has a little bit of swag to him, that he makes plays with his feet as well as his arm, that he puts in the extra reps and time critical for elite quarterback play.
Head coach Curt Cignetti sees the same things about the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza, saw it during all the film he watched while evaluating him in the transfer portal. He also got insight from Mendoza’s younger brother, Alberto, who was already a quarterback in the IU program.
“I've been aware of him,” Cignetti says. “I watched a lot of his Cal tape once he decided to enter the portal. I saw a quarterback that had played a lot of football, a lot of good football. He has size. He has mobility, quick release, good arm. He can extend plays. He’s a smart guy. He has areas he has to improve, but I have a lot of confidence in him. I’m excited to see how he develops.”
Excitement surrounds the program after last season’s 11-2 record-setting performance sparked by a combination of dominating offense (IU led the Big Ten in scoring at 41.3 points) and defense (allowing 15.8 points, second in the Big Ten to national champion Ohio State’s 12.9). That success, Cignetti says, has boosted the program and the university.
“It has helped us in so many different ways. It's helped the university fundraising at all levels, academic and athletic. Indiana has the second largest alumni base in America to Texas. So there was a lot of Hoosier pride out there.
“Obviously, it opened a lot of doors in the recruiting process because the first year we were selling promises, things we had accomplished in the past. Now we put it on the field. So, we had better-looking athletes walking through the doors.”
Better-looking athletes, and a successful debut season, don’t guarantee results for this year. Cignetti is well aware.
“That's all done. Last year is done. All the Coach Cignetti pictures in the buildings on GameDay, get them off the walls, all that stuff. Everything is earned, not given now. Nothing good in life comes easy. What's cheap won't last. What lasts isn't cheap. You’ve got to pay the price every day and do it consistently.
“When you are good, then you got to have that burning desire to be great because 98 percent of this game is between your ears.”