BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Alberto Mendoza is looking forward to the challenge of playing quarterback at Indiana University. After winning his second consecutive State Championship in Florida this past season, Mendoza decided to follow Curt Cignetti to Bloomington after originally committing to JMU. The Miami native joined Indiana Sports Beat Radio on Friday morning for an in-depth interview, which covered a range of topics for the Hoosier commit. The high school senior spoke with a level of maturity you don’t often see for such a young age.
For starters, Mendoza decided to follow Coach Cig for a number of reasons, including his statements about being a winner. "I like it," Mendoza said. "I think he's a confident coach. He's won at many places. He has a right to say it because he's won so much."
Outside of the confidence, Mendoza simply has a lot of trust in this staff which made the decision easy. "I really had a great relationship with the coaching staff," he said. "It was really just seeing if I liked Bloomington on my visit, which I definitely did. I have a lot of trust in them. I think they're great coaches. They have a lot of experience. They put a lot of winning things together. I want to be developed as a quarterback. I want to go somewhere where I can develop. Just to be able to go somewhere with great coaching and great development, is a great opportunity for me."
Later in the interview, Mendoza continued raving about Cignetti and his staff: "He has great culture. He always has the right guys in the building. He recruits the right guys. They're maybe not the highest star guys, but they're the right guys. He sold me on that. He knows football. He's a coach that you want to be under. He's been under Nick Saban, and Nick Saban commenting on him? That's a big upside. His vision for me and the players, it's amazing."
There will be a lot of competition at the quarterback position this coming season at IU, which is never a bad thing. The Hoosiers recently landed Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke, who will turn 24 years old by the middle of next season. Rourke has a ton of experience, and just threw for 2200 yards this past season. Indiana also landed 4-star and in-state recruit Tyler Cherry, and still have Tayven Jackson in the QB room as well. Alberto Mendoza is not shying away from a full quarterback room. He's embracing it.
"I look forward to competing," Mendoza said. "It makes you better. Pushes me to work harder. Being able to compete is an amazing opportunity. I wouldn't want it any other way. I wouldn't be the QB I was today if I didn't compete. I haven't met them yet. I'm sure they're great guys. At the end of the day, the best guy's going to play. I'm ready to get in there, work my butt off, and work to be the best quarterback I can be. If that's the best quarterback in the room, so be it. I'll do everything I can to be the starting quarterback and to control the controllables."
Mendoza is used to competition, even in his own family. Everyone knows the Manning brothers. Maybe the Mendoza brothers are next in line to make a name for themselves. Alberto's older brother Fernando Mendoza was the starter at his high school before graduating and passing the baton to Alberto. Older brother Fernando currently plays for the California Golden Bears where he started seven games this past year, and notched wins over Washington St, Stanford, and over UCLA in the Rose Bowl earning the nickname the "Cuban Cannon" along the way. Can Alberto become Indiana's "Cuban Missile?"
Alberto talked about what he's learned from that relationship over the years. "I learned a lot," he said. "I learned how to read defenses. I learned how to match my drops with my routes. We always watched film together. We would lift early in the morning. I was with him 24/7. We would do everything together. Seeing his habits, and seeing where he is right now, it's just amazing."
As for Indiana and Bloomington itself, Mendoza can't wait to arrive and get things started. "I'm really looking forward to it. The atmosphere. The college town. It's going to be a great opportunity to play on a huge stage with a lot of support. It's an amazing opportunity, and I'm going to do everything I can to cherish it."
After winning those state championships in high school, he wants to continue his winning ways at Indiana. "It was an incredible feeling," said Mendoza. "I want to get a Bowl Ring at Indiana. I'm still chasing the feeling. I got one last year, got one this year. I need rings. If I don't get them, I'm not happy. I've got to have them."
Whether Mendoza ends up as the starting quarterback or not at Indiana University, Coach Cignetti and the staff are in good shape if they continue recruiting young men just like him.
Watch the full interview from Indiana Sports Beat with Jim Coyle below.
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
