A new star is born in the world of college football, and his name is Fernando Mendoza. The Indiana quarterback has just etched his name into the record books by winning the prestigious 2025 Heisman Trophy. But here's where it gets controversial... Mendoza is not your typical Heisman winner. He's a transfer student, and this is the part most people miss: transfers have been dominating this award recently. In fact, Mendoza is the fourth consecutive winner to have transferred schools.
The Heisman Trophy, presented by Nissan, was awarded to Mendoza during the annual ceremony on December 13, 2025, held at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. With a total of 2,362 points and an impressive 643 first-place votes, he left his competitors in the dust. Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt came in second with 1,435 points, while Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame and Julian Sayin of Ohio State rounded out the top four.
Mendoza, a redshirt junior, made history as Indiana's first-ever Heisman winner. The previous highest finisher for the Hoosiers was Anthony Thompson, who was the runner-up in 1989. Standing at 6'5
