Fernando Mendoza

[ssvir]

His GF won't be at Miami next year anyway.

He would transfer in January so they would be together for 1 semester and then he is only here for the Fall.

 

[Dude]

How is his lateral movement? Move around in that pocket and avoiding the rush is just as important

He's elusive enough and has the frame to become a bit of a giant (we will see). His foot speed out of the pocket is very, very good. He can break for 20 to 30 yards quickly with a long stride. I honestly think he's a bit of a freak in this regard. There aren't a bunch of players with his athleticism and size. He really could develop into a formidable player.

 

[TheOriginalCane]

My opinion on Emory is based off people who seen him at practice. Whoever it is that comes at QB is in for a fight.

Oh good lord, another Greentree All-American. Now I can see why Mateer was scared to come to Miami…

 

[Hurracanes]

Oh good lord, another Greentree All-American. Now I can see why Mateer was scared to come to Miami…

Don’t do that. Mateer comes and it’s a totally different story. Largely because of $. Mendoza isn’t being given anything. He will have to compete for the job.

 

[edge]

beck seems like the least likely for sure, but there's been rumblings of him not getting along with the OC all year and they have Rashada. him getting injured probably increases the likelihood of him NOT going to the NFL, but transferring? idk. His gf goes to miami - that's the only connection and a safe bet if he wants away from UGA for whatever reason

Beck is by far the best option of the 3 if he enters

ewers will likely go to NFL but his is more likely a real option for us because Texas has Arch waiting and I don't think anyone sees a scenario where it isn't Arch's team next year. Mel kiper came out and said he needs to stay in college another year. I don't think arch manning waits another year so texas likely tells ewers that his time there is up. Is he too prideful to transfer and declares for the NFL draft, or does a team like miami pay him enough and sell him on the cam ward draft rise?

Mendoza? who knows - it's weird we haven't been liked to him yet. either we are and it's under wraps since Mario knows his family personally, or maybe he's interested in someone like Indiana and miami is waiting on someone else (or just rolling with emory)

But isn’t this the last year for the Cavinder girls?

 

[TriStarCane]

The Mendoza is a statue claim some are making is ridiculous.

If he’s a statue then wtf is Emory?

 

[dk72]

If he’s a statue then wtf is Emory?

Neither one is a statue. Its CIS exaggeration

 

[cway313]

You completely missed the point.

100% of the time!

 

[rascon]

I don’t believe the 7 figure offers for Mendoza at all. I think if Georgia wants him, it’s as an insurance policy in case Beck doesn’t come back and the other guys they have ain’t it at all (and I think the jury is still out on all their qbs). Indiana made no sense unless it was an attempt to help create leverage. Mizzou is out as they settled for the kid from Penn St who has no experience.

I am kinda hoping that Miami is slow playing Mendoza for now, especially IF there is someone who has signaled interest through the backchannels.

If we don’t have any other options and he wants to gamble on himself, come on a token NIL for 25 and prove he is a CFP qb, than let’s ride. But lets not pretend this guy is a slam dunk to get us to the CFP.

 

[FL Cane]

So far, I’ve heard (from this board) 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?

For me it’s Ewers and Mendoza. The more interesting candidate though is, surprisingly, Mendoza.

We know Ewers ceiling. He’s a guy that’s battle tested and has shown up and played in some of the toughest places in the country. He’ll also miss throws that’ll make you scratch your head.

Mendoza, on the other hand, showed a big leap in development from his Freshman to Sophomore year, and had a solid year behind a terrible OL and with very little talent outside a solid TE and banged up RB.

Ewers is the more known/splash option. But Mendoza is a guy who’s never had the OL or talent that he’d have here. He could very well have the higher ceiling. I’d be happy with either one.

 

[Torocane]

Beck will be playing. Likely not until June-July to be cleared to throw.

The concern is whether he’s the same guy. Anything can happen in a full reconstruction and rehab process

Regardless of how people fell about him that is too much risk to take on IMO.

 

[E1k]

So he starts at Texas over Arch "Jesus" Manning and he's garbage huh?

if u watched any texas game you would see he’s garbage, and idgaf who he starts over. Yall value the dumbest **** on here, g he starts over arch manning lmao who cares

 

[E1k]

If we didn’t have TVD throwing a pic every other possession we probably win 9 games. We really are not that far off that people think

So last year we went 7-5(should have been 8-4) with TVD throwing hella picks.

We upgrade to the best qb in the country and we basically get 3(2) games better? With two calls that could have went either way btw

And now we have lost almost all of the players from those teams and we aren’t that far off from 9 games?

This is what happens every off season, everyone just thinks the best case scenario will happen at every position.

 

[ssvir]

if u watched any texas game you would see he’s garbage, and idgaf who he starts over. Yall value the dumbest **** on here, g he starts over arch manning lmao who cares

I actually have watched plenty of Texas games the last two years and while he's definitely not Cam Ward, he's definitely better than what we currently have on the roster and what's currently in the portal. He's also been playing injured.

 

[9oh4Cane]

Think it's tough to make a comparison between Mendoza and Beck & Ewers. There are valid concerns about the latter two, but those concerns mostly stem from watching them **** the bed against very good P2 teams in game of consequence. Mendoza simply hasn't played in games like that. He played poorly against Oregon last year, but it's a bit unfair to judge him harshly on that as Cal was completely overmatched.

Beck's injury concerns me a lot. If he needs Tommy John surgery he should be good to go in the summer, but that means he's misses spring practice and it's an unknown whether he'll be the same QB after the surgery. All that said, I'll be happy if we took either of the 3 and rank them:

1. Ewers​

2. Mendoza​

3. Beck (significant injury)​

I thought Ewers played a nice game last night. The miss on 4th down sucked, and it highlighted the concern that he doesn't have it when the chips are down. However 2 possessions later when Texas sealed the game he made some nice clutch plays:

• Threw perfect backshoulder throw from his own goal line to draw a PI
• Didn't force a throw on 2nd & 9 when he was pressured and no one was open and got back to the LOS
• Worked through his progressions and took his checkdown to convert on 3rd & 9

Nothing spectacular, but he didn't need to be spectacular up 2 scores in the 4th. The 3rd down conversion essentially sealed the game. I have trouble accepting that we're somehow screwed if Ewers is our QB next year. He is flawed but he's also been the starting QB on a playoff team 2 years running, and won a playoff game last night.

I would take Nico over all of them if he's over Heupel treating him like a pinata.

I agree with this. I think people are too tough on Ewers, he’s an excellent QB and game manager. I’m not sure his price tag makes sense for us, at least the one floated around. Beck is more of a well known commodity compared to Mendoza based off his ‘23 season, but he struggled big time this year and the injury could mean missing meaningful reps in the spring with a new scheme.

Take money out of it, I would clearly take Ewers over Mendoza. Beck/Mendoza I don’t see a clear difference, but I think Mendoza presents a better opportunity for Mario to sell development and continuity to potential recruits. Obviously the price tag puts a different spin on things, but I wouldn’t overspend this cycle.

 

[cway313]

if u watched any texas game you would see he’s garbage, and idgaf who he starts over. Yall value the dumbest **** on here, g he starts over arch manning lmao who cares

I was here last week, but then I started thinking about the alternative being Emory.

 

[Calinative]

I don’t believe the 7 figure offers for Mendoza at all. I think if Georgia wants him, it’s as an insurance policy in case Beck doesn’t come back and the other guys they have ain’t it at all (and I think the jury is still out on all their qbs). Indiana made no sense unless it was an attempt to help create leverage. Mizzou is out as they settled for the kid from Penn St who has no experience.

I am kinda hoping that Miami is slow playing Mendoza for now, especially IF there is someone who has signaled interest through the backchannels.

If we don’t have any other options and he wants to gamble on himself, come on a token NIL for 25 and prove he is a CFP qb, than let’s ride. But lets not pretend this guy is a slam dunk to get us to the CFP.

Why wouldn't you believe a million dollar offer for a 2 year starting Qb ranked as the 2nd best Qb in the portal, when Eric Singleton the top Wr is getting >$1m, Underwood just signed for like >$2.5M, and most HS 5star QBs are signing for around $700k+. We just paid Cam like >$2M...

$1.25M+ for Mendoza would be a pretty safe bet imo.

Now those Mateer $3.5M+ rumors, yeah that sounded like bs.

 

[RVACane]

I guess this is where I’m at. I appreciate the writeup @TheOriginalCane just gave. I was at the Cal game also up close and had a different take. And I think it’s deceptive to not include the rushing yards Mateer has when making comparisons. But overall I’ll buy that Mendoza is one of the best options available given a lot of inconsistent QB play across college football. And we certainly need a portal QB to elevate the room.

I can’t believe I didn’t get to hang out with Grover at the cal game.

 

[RVACane]

Why wouldn't you believe a million dollar offer for a 2 year starting Qb ranked as the 2nd best Qb in the portal, when Eric Singleton the top Wr is getting >$1m, Underwood just signed for like >$2.5M, and most HS 5star QBs are signing for around $700k+. We just paid Cam like >$2M...

$1.25M+ for Mendoza would be a pretty safe bet imo.

Now those Mateer $3.5M+ rumors, yeah that sounded like bs.

 

[RVACane]

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.

I think mateer’s stats are better. Regardless, if we’re fixing the defense, which I think needs to be priority number one - and it appears we’re already on the way - and still have the NIL for Mendoza then it’s a no-brainer over what we have.