In time, the rest of the college football world will truly appreciate what Curt Cignetti, Fernando Mendoza, and the rest of the 2025-26 Indiana Hoosiers accomplished on the college football gridiron. To go 16-0 and winning the Big Ten, en route to winning the College Football Playoff, is nothing to scoff at. The fact Indiana did this without the most talent-laden roster makes it even better.
Here is every former Indiana star Mel Kiper Jr. has going in the first round in his latest NFL mock draft.
- Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza: Las Vegas Raiders (No. 1 overall)
And here is a list of every former Ohio State star Kiper has going in the first round of his lastest mock.
- Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs: New York Jets (No. 2 overall)
- Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese: Tennessee Titans (No. 4 overall)
- Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate: Cleveland Browns (No. 6 overall)
- Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles: Washington Commanders (No. 7 overall)
- Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Kayden McDonald: Chicago Bears (No. 25 overall)
As you can see here, Mendoza may be the first player taken by the Las Vegas Raiders, but there is no other former IU standout going in the top 32. Not even star wide receivers Omar Cooper Jr. or Elijah Sarratt. Nobody... As far as the Big Ten runner-up Ohio State Buckeyes are concerned, Ryan Day's team has five players going in the first round in Kiper's mock draft, including four inside the top 10...
It just goes to show how special of a head coach Cignetti is, and how incredible Mendoza was last fall.
Fernando Mendoza is the only Indiana Hoosiers star slated to go top 32
This naturally bleeds into the amount of disrespect Mendoza gets nationally in the pantheon of the sport. When you do more with less, it should be praised, and not held against you... One of the biggest reasons why Cam Newton is widely seen as a top-three college quarterback this century is because he went undefeated at Auburn with Nick Fairley and a bunch of guys playing for Gene Chizik.
Last year's Indiana team was more talented than the 2010 Auburn team Newton starred on. That being said, the fact the Hoosiers beat what looks to have been a loaded Ohio State team in the Big Ten Championship makes that even more impressive. Keep in mind that their two biggest stars from last year are not even draft-eligible yet in quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
What this really boils down to is the one-year partnership between Cignetti and Mendoza transcends the entire sport. Yes, Cignetti has success two years ago at IU with Kurtis Rourke at quarterback, but nothing quite like this. Mendoza was not some scrub playing for Justin Wilcox at Cal. Together, they did something extraordinary. Ohio State was a collection of stars last season, but Indiana had a team.
While seeing a second former Indiana star go in the first round would be great, do not count on it...