Cash Herrera's de-commitment sends mixed signals to Indiana football fans

The Indiana Hoosiers quarterback room faces uncertainty once again in 2026 after Indiana is expected to lose junior quarterback and Heisman front-runner Fernando Mendoza.

Mendoza is likely one and done at Indiana after transferring over from Cal in 2025. Mendoza has 2,641 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, a quarterback rating of 88.7, a completion percentage of 72.2 and only 5 interceptions.

Mendoza has led the Hoosiers to an 11-0 record and is currently the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and be the first quarterback taken off the board in the 2026 NFL Draft. He is replacing Kurtis Rourke who was also one and done at Indiana after spending four seasons at Ohio. Rourke was drafted in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the San Fransisco 49ers.

Who will be the quarterback in 2026 for Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers? There is no certainty at the position and no projected starter currently, but one potential starter if now officially off the list and that is three-star quarterback Cash Herrera.

Herrera announced Thursday afternoon he has de-committed from Indiana.  Herrera had flipped his commitment from Iowa to Indiana over the summer.

The San Diego, California native who attends The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California, is rated as a 3-star prospect and ranked 805th nationally in the 2026 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is ranked as the 46th-best quarterback in the class per 247Sports Composite

Outside of Indiana, he also had offers from Colorado State, Iowa, San Diego State, UCLA, Cal, Minnesota, Arizona, Virginia Tech and several Group of Five and Ivy League programs. 

Mendoza does have another year of eligibility remaining, his younger brother and current back up quarterback Alberto Mendoza will be a redshirt sophomore in 2026.  Senior third-stringer Grant Wilson is in his final year of eligibility, while Tyler Cherry and Jacob Bell will both be redshirt freshmen next year.

Cignett and the staff are expected to hit the transfer portal heavy this off-season and find another veteran to lead this team to victory in 2026. The only quarterback (high school) commit on the Indiana roster currently is 2027, four-star recruit Jameson Purcell.

As for Cash Herrera he will visit the Boise State Broncos this weekend, when they take on Colorado State at Albertson Stadium.