‘Everybody is so proud:’ As Fernando Mendoza wins Heisman, Columbus High alumni celebrate
The raucous crowd at Vice Pizza in South Miami fell to a hush as the announcement was prepared to be made. Nearly 200 people with ties to Christopher Columbus High School — alumni, faculty, administrators, families and friends — were on site to watch one of their own hopefully win one of college football’s most prestigious honors.
And then came the news they were waiting to hear.
Fernando Mendoza won the 2025 Heisman Trophy.
The silence turned into euphoria.
“What a day,” said a jubilant Thomas Kruczek, Columbus’ president.
Mendoza, a redshirt junior quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers, is not only the first Columbus alumnus to win the Heisman. He is also the first Miami native and the first Cuban-American to take home the award, which has been given out annually since 1935. He received 643 first-place votes to clear the field and finish well ahead of Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who had 189 first-place votes. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin were the other finalists.
“Everybody is so proud of him,” Kruczek said before the watch party started Saturday night, adding that Monday will be “HeisMendoza Day” at the school.
They certainly had reason to celebrate.
Mendoza has completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,980 yards and a nation-leading 33 touchdown passes with just six interceptions.
He led the Hoosiers to a perfect 13-0 record and their first Big Ten championship since 1967. They are the No. 1 overall seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Indiana has a first-round bye in the playoff and will face either No. 8 seed Oklahoma or No. 9 seed Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 for its quarterfinal game. Should the Hoosiers win their next two games — the Rose Bowl and then their semifinal, which would be at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta — Mendoza and Indiana will play for a national championship on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.
“If you told me as a kid in Miami that I’d be here on stage holding this prestigious trophy, I probably would have laughed, cried [like I’m doing now], or both, because this moment, it’s an honor. It’s bigger than me,” Mendoza said during the ceremony at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in New York City.
And it was certainly a journey for Mendoza to get to this point.
Mendoza went 21-4 as Columbus’ starting quarterback in a distinguished prep career, but didn’t really get his time in the limelight and was under-recruited as a result. He was the Explorers’ backup as a sophomore and his junior year — one in which he went a perfect 9-0 — came amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He was just a two-star prospect by the 247Sports composite rankings’ metrics, the No. 140 quarterback and 2,149th prospect overall in the Class of 2022.
After initially being committed to Yale, Mendoza ultimately signed with the Cal Golden Bears. And, like at Columbus, he had to bide his time before getting his chance. Mendoza ultimately became the starter midway through his redshirt freshman season in 2023, starting eight of the Golden Bears’ final nine games. He had a breakout 2024, throwing for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns with six interceptions that season.
And then he took off at Indiana this season.
But through it all, Mendoza never forgot his roots. He made sure to recognize Columbus on stage when giving his speech.
“Thank you to Coach Dave Dunn and to Christopher Columbus High School for giving me a home, a dream to follow, and, more importantly, a brotherhood,” he said. “Adelante.”
That got the crowd going at Vice Pizza.
And it only validated what those who know Mendoza say about his makeup, his persona.
“He was great football player, but he was just a great kid on campus,” Kruczek said. “He was the kid who, at the end of our football games, our team always gets together and we pray. And coach Dunn always had Fernando doing the prayer after the game. He’s a man of faith. He was a great leader.”
Added Lourdes Rayneri, Mendoza’s computer applications teacher his senior year at Columbus: “The moment that I found out that he was even a nominee for this award, I was so happy for him. He personifies everything that is pure good. His smile always was radiating every day, no matter what the day was like. He’s like a wholesome full all-around great student. If anyone deserves this, it’s Fernando.”
And through it all, Mendoza still wants to inspire. His final message during his Heisman speech, one that included thanks to his family and coaches at all three stops in his career (Columbus, Cal and Indiana) was to “every kid out there who feels overlooked and underestimated.”
“Know I was you. I was that kid, too,” Mendoza said. “The truth is you don’t need the most stars, hype or rankings. You just need discipline, heart and people who believe in you — and you need to believe in your own abilities. I hope this moment shows you that chasing your dreams is worth it, no matter how big or impossible they seem.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2025 at 10:02 PM.
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