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Fernando Mendoza likely to skip Indiana's trip to White House: 'I’m at the bottom of the totem pole ... I can’t miss practice'

headshotby: Alec Lasley05/03/26allasley

The Indiana football program is expected to be in Washington DC later this month visiting the White House to celebrate its national championship season, but one player may not be making the trip.

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Fernando Mendoza, former Indiana quarterback and the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s draft, is not planning on attending.

“I believe May 11 is the first day of OTAs, if I’m not mistaken,” Mendoza told reporters this weekend after Raiders rookie camp. “If it is on the first day of OTAs, I’m at the bottom of the totem pole here. I gotta prove myself. I can’t miss practice.”

TheHoosier.com confirmed on Friday through sources that Indiana’s trip is expected to take place on May 11, next Monday. While rookie camp has been underway for a few days, OTAs is a critical part of a rookie’s development in the NFL. It’ll be the first snaps he’s taking alongside the rest of his Raiders teammates.

According to the Raiders official website, OTAs are expected to begin on May 18 — leaving the possibility of a trip to the White House for Mendoza.

However, Mendoza’s preparation and training is what elevated his play at Indiana and the work ethic and leadership he showed in the one year he was in Bloomington remains the same despite being in Las Vegas.

And he didn’t mince words about his thoughts on the trip.

“As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look,” Mendoza said about skipping OTAs. “I want to try to best serve my teammates, and I don’t know if I’d be accomplishing that goal (if I went).”

Mendoza was the first No. 1 pick for Indiana football in the modern era and is coming off of the first-ever Heisman Trophy Award winner for the program, en route to a 16-0 National Championship.

Mendoza broke the record for the most touchdown passes by a Hoosier with 41 on the season, while also setting the single-game IU record for completion percentage in a game (95%), as well as completion percentage for a season (72%).

Additionally, he won the Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award and Walter Camp Award, while being named to the All-Big Ten First Team and a consensus All-American.

Heading into his rookie season, he’s expected to compete for the starting job with veteran Kirk Cousins, who the Raiders signed this offseason.

“I’ve learned a lot in these two days,” Mendoza said of the start of rookie camp. “It’s coming out like a fire hose, but at (the same) time, I’m just trying to take it all in to get better every single day.”

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