Alberto Mendoza was a college football national champion for the Indiana Hoosiers.
He didn’t stick around to achieve more in Bloomington, though. In the offseason, Mendoza chose to transfer to Georgia Tech, where he begins his season Thursday night against Colorado.
He’s familiar even to casual college football fans, thanks to his last name, his number, his appearance and the fact that he certainly seems to be related to the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza.
And yep, GT’s Mendoza does in fact relate to the man who was a superstar at Indiana last season.
Alberto Mendoza making mom and dad proud ❤️ pic.twitter.com/VpTK5Ye00L
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 4, 2026
Is Alberto Mendoza Related To Fernando Mendoza?
Yep, Alberto is Fernando’s younger brother.
Fernando is the most recent No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and is with the Las Vegas Raiders now.
Alberto was actually Fernando’s backup at IU, and when Fernando had to come out of the game at times for the Hoosiers, it was Alberto who went in for him.
Now, Alberto has decided to chart his own path.
He saw his brother transfer from Cal to Indiana and have major success for the Hoosiers. Rather than stay at IU, Alberto chose the transfer route, as well.
Why Did Alberto Mendoza Transfer?
The simplest explanation is opportunity.
Alberto was the backup at Indiana last season, and sure, the starter (his older brother) left. That didn’t guarantee that he’d start this season, though.
The modern college football ecosystem sees QBs transfer all the time, and there was an obvious case for Indiana to pursue a more proven passer.
In this case, the Hoosiers brought aboard Josh Hoover from TCU, a situation which would’ve made it tough for Alberto to start there.
Instead, he entered the portal himself which put him in more control of his own destiny. This way, Alberto would choose a place that he was at least pretty sure would allow him to start.
Georgia Tech provided that opportunity, and with a pretty exciting offense.
Last season, GT had Haynes King as its quarterback. King is more mobile than Alberto, but he also was once a transfer, and he came into his own with the Yellow Jackets.
King parlayed a monster season that put him top-10 in the Heisman voting into an NFL opportunity with the Carolina Panthers.
Alberto Mendoza is still a long way from a potential chance in the NFL, but he’s at least got a chance to grow his game with a starting job at Georgia Tech.
He gets out of the shadow of being just the “other Mendoza” in an Indiana uniform and can instead be his own standout performer with the Yellow Jackets.
How Alberto Mendoza Is Related To Fernando, And Why He Transferred From Indiana