For the second year in a row- College Football’s most prestigious award resides in South Florida.
Tonight, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza was announced as the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner in landslide fashion. Mendoza becomes the first Hoosier to take home the award, and out of the 90 all time winners- Fernando becomes the 43rd passer.
During his redshirt junior season Fernando- a 6 foot 5 gunslinger from Miami, FL- recorded 2,980 yards with 33 touchdowns on 71.5% completion, while adding 6 more scores on the ground. Over the past few days, the accolades have showered the highly touted QB from the Sunshine State, as Fernando Mendoza became the recipient for the following awards:
2025 Heisman Trophy
AP College Football Player of the Year
Davey O’Brien Award (Nations Top QB)
Walter Camp Award (Top College Player of the Year)
Maxwell Award (Most Outstanding College Player)
BIG10 MVP, QB of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year
A Momentous Night
Fernando Mendoza is the third Heisman Winner of Latino Descent (Jim Plunkett, Bryce Young), and the first of Cuban descent. During his acceptance speech, Fernando mixed Spanish into a portion of his monologue- honoring his grandparents with a touching tribute.
Mendoza now becomes the second consecutive South Florida native to receive the Heisman- joining Colorado’s WR/DB Travis Hunter, who was born in Boynton Beach, FL. The South Florida Hotbed continues its long legacy of elite talent, as Fernando Mendoza becomes the second QB to win the award, joining Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, who is a Pompano Beach, FL. native.
When asked about joining the storied brotherhood of elite SOFLO talent, Fernando had this to say:
“Lamar Jackson is the GOAT of all South Florida Quarterbacks. To join that company is special.” Mendoza shared at the podium. “He’s someone that every Florida QB watched, and to join him in that company means so much…The level of football in Miami, the speed, the intensity and the competition is what made me today. I can’t thank all the competition and everybody in Miami enough for always supporting me.”
All time, the State of Florida is now the home to six Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966, born Miami), Danny Wuerffel (1996, born Pensacola), Tim Tebow (2007, born Philippines, grew up in Florida), Lamar Jackson (2016, born Pompano Beach), Travis Hunter (2024, born Boynton Beach) and Fernando Mendoza (2025, born Miami)
Attached is Mendoza’s full Heisman Speech
Voting By The Numbers
The Heisman Trophy voting system is built off an electronic ballot submitted by 870 media personnel, 59 previous Heisman Trophy Winners, and one lucky fan ballot for a grand total of 930 submissions. Each submission has 3 votes, with a first place vote earning 3 points, second earning 2 and third earning 1.
In total- Fernando Mendoza tallied 2,362 points- which was 927 more than 2nd place Diego Pavia (QB, Vanderbilt) at 1,435. Regionally, Mendoza swept the Country, earning the #1 voter tab in every region possible (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, South-West, Midwest, Far West). Fernando’s highest point total came from the Far West with 414 tabs.
The 2025 Heisman Trophy stands as the final award that a player can earn this season. Next on the docket, the Hoosiers of Indiana get a much deserved first round bye in the 2025 College Football Playoff, before taking on the winner of Oklahoma and Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
