Fernando Mendoza will enter the NFL Draft after main Indiana to a 16-0 season and its first School Soccer Playoff nationwide championship, he introduced on social media Friday. The quarterback was awarded the Heisman Trophy and is predicted to be taken by the Las Vegas Raiders with the primary choose of the draft.
As spectacular as these accomplishments had been, the second Mendoza will greatest be remembered by Hoosiers followers got here with 9:18 to play within the title recreation in opposition to Miami. He took off on a designed working play from the 12-yard line, accelerated and bounced off a number of defenders earlier than diving into the tip zone, thrusting the ball over his head to attain.
Now there’s a bobblehead to commemorate that historic second. And there could also be nobody happier than Josh Rawitch, president of the Nationwide Baseball Corridor of Fame and Museum.
Rawitch doesn’t get excited by any outdated bobblehead. He sees a lot sports activities memorabilia that it takes one thing particular to grace his desk.
However he’ll make room for the “Fernando Mendoza Diving Landing Bobblehead,” issued this week by the Nationwide Bobblehead Corridor of Fame and Museum. Rawitch, you see, is an Indiana graduate, regardless that he grew up in Northridge and coated highschool soccer video games for The Instances whereas in highschool.
“In my workplace I solely have actually distinctive, random bobbleheads like Dave Matthews and Jack Kerouac,” he mentioned. “And this undoubtedly qualifies.”
Phil Sklar, CEO of the Nationwide Bobblehead Corridor of Fame and Museum, mentioned Hoosiers bobbleheads are on tempo to shatter information for school championship gross sales.
“We anticipate the Fernando Mendoza Diving Landing Bobblehead to be probably the most common that we have now ever supplied,” he mentioned.
Rawitch can also recognize a well timed bobblehead. His Corridor of Fame and Museum options an exhibit on the historical past of baseball bobbleheads known as “Getting the Nod.”
“We have now greater than 1,000 in our museum assortment and it’s clear how common they’re amongst followers as a manner of commemorating huge moments,” mentioned Rawitch, who plans to buy the certainly one of Mendoza. “Sadly, the Mendoza one received’t fairly match there, however it should look nice in my workplace!”
Mendoza described the landing run on “The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Thursday evening, saying the play was designed for him to run to his left however that he noticed daylight to the fitting and improvised.
“It’s like whenever you miss your exit on maps, and also you’re like, ‘Oh shoot, right here we go,’” he informed Fallon. “However fortunately it was an exit to a landing. I noticed these big soccer gamers in entrance of me and I used to be like a human pinball machine. I used to be like, growth, growth, bang, getting banged up and swiftly I’m within the air and I used to be like ‘I’d as properly attain for the landing.’”
To which Fallon replied, “Legendary!”
Mendoza spent two seasons at Cal earlier than transferring to Indiana, the place he accomplished 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards with an FBS-leading 41 touchdowns. He rushed for 276 yards and 7 extra scores.
If he goes to the Raiders, Mendoza would be part of fellow quarterbacks Cam Newton and Joe Burrow as the one gamers to be the No. 1 general choose after having received a nationwide title and the Heisman Trophy.
