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Fernando Mendoza

Genghis Cane said:
I’m okay with Mendoza. Think he would do fine and we could win 9-10 games with him if we continue to elevate the defense.

That said, I wanted Jackson Arnold. I also would have liked for us to pursue Mensah. We put all of our eggs in the Mateer basket and watched solid options commit elsewhere.

So now, I think you better land Mendoza. He’s better than Ewers and Beck. If Emory is truly as good as the staff thinks, he’ll beat out Mendoza.
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I wanted Arnold as well and agree at this point I would take Mendoza.
 

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grover said:
What I saw was a good QB who sliced through our absolutely ATROCIOUS secondary. Those walkons and JAGs were wide open, and every time we brought the blitz he knew where the gap was. Interestingly, I saw VT, UL, Cuse do the same exact thing. So respectfully, that’s not the game I’d use to determine if the guy is better than other options.

All that said, I’m not saying he’s bad just that I’d prefer another portal QB to emerge. I thought Pavia might be an option for example. And I personally prefer Beck and Ewers. I am not really excited by any of them relative to Mateer tbh. But I also totally agree we cannot afford to run with Emory. So if Mendoza is Dawson’s Plan B, then Mendoza it is and I’m good.
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I'm not using only that one game. That was the one game I saw him in person.

Again, Cal should have beaten ranked Pitt on the road the next week after we beat Cal. And Cal should have beaten NC State at home the week after that.

Look at all the performances. Look at all of the outcomes. You'd get a guy who would be in his third year as a starter, who has faced ACC competition, and who would be benefiting from a massive upgrade in offensive talent.

I've been very clear. I preferred Mateer. But to think one is massively better than the other is funny, particularly when their QB Ratings were, what, 19 spots apart? Come on, now.
 
You know the funny thing is all these top portal options are almost always guys that started as freshman. And it's not like they were all 5 star prospects. Yeah you are going to have freshman struggles, but a true frosh starting at QB just isn't that crazy to me if you feel they are legit. Everyone can decide if they view Nickel as a guy that can be legit 3 yr starter here. I think it's definitely possible. Dudes a baller imo. Plus we know how much staff like Emory, so if Nickel and Emory had a competition here cause we passed on the avg portal QBs and missed on the top ones, I'd actually be decently confident that Nickel is gunna be that dude if he won the job.

Freshman QBs win starting jobs all the time. And maybe it's not good for THAT season, but I'll tell you it would be very nice if Nickel was a stud that we went through growing pains with in 2025, and then was prepped for a big leap in 2016 as the entrenched dude right when our 2024 ha class is entering their jr season...

Having said that I'd go for portal QB this yr, it just would be more like Mendoza, Sawyer Robertson, Josh Hoover, Leavitt, Nico, Allar, etc... not Ewers/Beck at all...
 
DMoney said:
So far, I’ve heard no to Mendoza, no to Beck, no to Ewers.

Aside from Cam Ward and John Mateer, who is worthy of playing QB for our program that just won 10 games for the second time in two decades?
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Who have you “heard” this from?
 
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DMoney said:
So far, I’ve heard no to Mendoza, no to Beck, no to Ewers.

Aside from Cam Ward and John Mateer, who is worthy of playing QB for our program that just won 10 games for the second time in two decades?
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For Mendoza, is that a no for us, dawg, or is that a no from the player himself.



Is UM Randy or is Mendoza Randy?
GIF by Zack Kantor
 
Calinative said:
You know the funny thing is all these top portal options are almost always guys that started as freshman. And it's not like they were all 5 star prospects. Yeah you are going to have freshman struggles, but a true frosh starting at QB just isn't that crazy to me if you feel they are legit. Everyone can decide if they view Nickel as a guy that can be legit 3 yr starter here. I think it's definitely possible. Dudes a baller imo. Plus we know how much staff like Emory, so if Nickel and Emory had a competition here cause we passed on the avg portal QBs and missed on the top ones, I'd actually be decently confident that Nickel is gunna be that dude if he won the job.

Freshman QBs win starting jobs all the time. And maybe it's not good for THAT season, but I'll tell you it would be very nice if Nickel was a stud that we went through growing pains with in 2025, and then was prepped for a big leap in 2016 as the entrenched dude right when our 2024 ha class is entering their jr season...

Having said that I'd go for portal QB this yr, it just would be more like Mendoza, Sawyer Robertson, Josh Hoover, Leavitt, Nico, Allar, etc... not Ewers/Beck at all...
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Leavitt isn't leaving ASU.
 
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It’s not so much as people not thinking Mendoza is a good enough qb.

But our alleged number 2 option is not as good as cam and is in the playoffs and just demolished the vols. Why? Because we don’t have anyone as good as their top 2 receivers.

So again, people craping on Mendoza is not so much because they believe he can’t complete a forward pass. They just don’t see us having a squad that can do what Ohio state just did to Tennessee.

We lost our best wide outs and tight end.
Our dline didn’t look anything like osu last night.

Facts are facts. I hate osu. But they have qb that is no where near what Cam is but is good enough to take their squad to the final 6 teams.

So the reason we want someone better than above average is because of our impatience and our ability to look at the squad without orange and green glasses.
J smith ain’t walking through that door.

And Mendoza ain’t elevating our current receiver room more than cam did.
Nobody is replacing x, or Arroyo.

So until we get a squad good enough to make a Mendoza win at least ten games, we’re gonna be piisssed.

It’s obvious that no one available is as good as Cam. But the staff has known that since the day he walked through that door and hasn’t addressed the rest of the squad appropriately imo.

So until then, he sucks.
Nobody wants 8 or 9 wins and a pinstripe bowl next year. I want to spend December in Charlotte.
 
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1. Ewers
2. Mendoza
3. Beck
4. Emory

That’s how I’d currently rank the QBs mentioned. Most that don’t agree are just noticing the warts each has (which are legit). None are even close to Ward, so the hope has to be a good/great run game and a vastly improved defense.
 
Just like Poff who we took last year as a safety net from the chance of starting Emory I think grabbing Mendoza is the same thing

Mendoza is everything we want Emory to be… but Mendoza has actually proven it. Bring him in and let the competition bring out the best out of both of them… while keeping an open eye if someone special jumps in late or back channels us for interest…
 
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