After a fairly milquetoast two seasons to begin his college football career at Cal, Fernando Mendoza found a different level in 2025 and turned himself into the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft after a great campaign at Indiana under the guidance of head coach Curt Cignetti.
Their one season together was capped with a national title, as Cignetti has embraced the modern era of college football and made the Hoosiers' program into a powerhouse. The idea that Cignetti could end up being Mendoza's coach with the Las Vegas Raiders, while interesting, never really took root.
Mendoza and the Raiders have been a pre-ordained marriage since at least January, and John Spytek's comments after the pick prove that the team's process, although very thorough, was always going to land where it did.
No one in this draft class was going to push the Raiders off taking Mendoza first overall, and a full pre-draft vetting only fortified the fit.
Curt Cignetti is on-board with Raiders-Fernando Mendoza marriage
After Las Vegas officially selected Mendoza with the top overall pick on Thursday night, Cignetti collaborated with the Raiders' social media people and offered his approval of the new partnership, while also detailing what makes Mendoza so great.
"Wanna congratulate Fernando Mendoza, his family and the Raiders, on this historic pick," Cignetti said. "I can assure you no one will prepare more thoroughly to be the best he can be and make the Raiders successful like Fernando. Congrats again."
No highly-touted incoming rookie's college coach, at least this side of Nick Saban, is going to do anything other than heap praise on them at any and every opportunity. But if anyone would refrain from it, it would be Cignetti, the curmudgeon who wants to constantly "kill complacency."
But Cignetti's praise of Mendoza's work habits, which the Raiders got some first-hand knowledge of during the pre-draft process, stands out as different than the garden-variety praise we'd expect to see. And given Cignetti's propensity for stern, direct words, he said a lot in a 14-second clip.
Fans already know that Mendoza's work ethic is his superpower, but it's nice to hear that his college coach also feels the same way. If Mendoza ends up being a great quarterback in Las Vegas, fans will certainly feel indebted to Cignetti.
Time will tell exactly how things will work out for the Raiders and Mendoza. Even if the overall tone of his message was expected, Cignetti's cliché-free endorsement of his former quarterback is undeniably meaningful.