Daily Cal reports that Wilcox said Mendoza will be back next season. Is that how folks here interpreted what he said? Would make sense given his emotional "Cal Bears forever" interview. But as Fats Waller said, "One never knows, do one?"

Wilcox must have told him that he was going to step down after the bowl game.

JimSox said:

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Daily Cal reports that Wilcox said Mendoza will be back next season. Is that how folks here interpreted what he said? Would make sense given his emotional "Cal Bears forever" interview. But as Fats Waller said, "One never knows, do one?"

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Mendoza is guaranteed to be the starter next year if Wilcox is still here, which is almost guaranteed. We will probably bring in a portal guy that will never play or, if in, we will only have him run. Mendoza won't find a better situation elsewhere.

Moreover, Mendoza is in Haas and needs another year to get a great degree. I don't see him walking from that for uncertainty just for NIL. His family is wealthy, his dad is a doctor, Furthermore, Cal fans love him and almost certainly value him more than the market does and so will kick in plenty of NIL. His situation at Cal is ideal. And yes, he clearly loves Cal and his teammates too.

The only outside chance is if his dad's high school teammate, Mario Cristobal, wants him at Miami which would allow him to be closer to his ailing mom. Even if Cristobal did (I think he has other targets) I am confident Mendoza stays another year for the reasons above. Miami as a grad transfer in 2026 is more likely, if at all.

m2bear said:

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Wilcox must have told him that he was going to step down after the bowl game.

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Based on…?

"Mendoza won't find a better situation elsewhere."

He's pretty decent, and may get some enticing offers. He could come back for his degree later. Business is business.

If Ott does poorly in the draft, Mendoza may reconsider his commitment to stay with a mediocre program where he takes at least 3 sacks a game

calumnus said:

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m2bear said:

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Wilcox must have told him that he was going to step down after the bowl game.

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Based on…?

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Based on Wilcox giving Nando a t shirt with this artwork on it:

Mendoza is highly desirable for other teams. They see what he has done at Cal and are salivating. He was the number 2 QB in the ESPN transfer portal rankings today...they had SEC coach saying that anyone in the SEC would die to get him. (no - he did not declare - yes ESPN put him there as someone the assume will transfer based on Cal being bad and him being good).

Kid is a stud and a true blue Bear, and thankfully without our 5 star frosh we probably have enough NIL to keep him. But we need an OC.

Oski87 said:

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Mendoza is highly desirable for other teams. They see what he has done at Cal and are salivating. He was the number 2 QB in the ESPN transfer portal rankings today...they had SEC coach saying that anyone in the SEC would die to get him. (no - he did not declare - yes ESPN put him there as someone the assume will transfer based on Cal being bad and him being good).

Kid is a stud and a true blue Bear, and thankfully without our 5 star frosh we probably have enough NIL to keep him. But we need an OC.

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Great that ESPN is hyping him, that is one of the benefits of joining the ACC, but he actually has to enter the portal for it to be a concern. I don't see it.

I was a bit surprised that Mendoza didn't make the All-ACC Honorable Mention list, especially considering he won ACC QB of the week three times. Maybe if Cal had won a couple of those close conference games. I say this having only seen Cal's ACC opponents this season, so I don't know about several of the other QBs.

I'm hoping Fernando gets a cut of these t-shirt proceeds as the shirt quotes him directly. I ordered mine right away:

https://calfansburden.com/shop/p/98-yards?utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer_notification

HearstMining said:

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I was a bit surprised that Mendoza didn't make the All-ACC Honorable Mention list, especially considering he won ACC QB of the week three times. Maybe if Cal had won a couple of those close conference games. I say this having only seen Cal's ACC opponents this season, so I don't know about several of the other QBs.

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Agree that not making honorable mention seems a little odd. But the ACC had some good QBs this season. Ward, McCord, Jennings, Klubnik just off the top. Winning matters. Even in individual awards.

Assuming Mendoza stays he likely gets a lot of love from the media and coaches in the run up to the 2025 season.

Lets fix the roster and staff.

6956bear said:

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HearstMining said:

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I was a bit surprised that Mendoza didn't make the All-ACC Honorable Mention list, especially considering he won ACC QB of the week three times. Maybe if Cal had won a couple of those close conference games. I say this having only seen Cal's ACC opponents this season, so I don't know about several of the other QBs.

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Agree that not making honorable mention seems a little odd. But the ACC had some good QBs this season. Ward, McCord, Jennings, Klubnik just off the top. Winning matters. Even in individual awards.

Assuming Mendoza stays he likely gets a lot of love from the media and coaches in the run up to the 2025 season.

Lets fix the roster and staff.

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Yup - I was at the Syracuse game and McCord really impressed me. Of course, having an OL that actually gave him time to throw didn't hurt.

JimSox said:

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Daily Cal reports that Wilcox said Mendoza will be back next season. Is that how folks here interpreted what he said? Would make sense given his emotional "Cal Bears forever" interview. But as Fats Waller said, "One never knows, do one?"

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As of right now, sure, he will be back. What else is Wilcox going to say? IMO, he is likely to stay another year, but let's not low-ball him on the NIL and let's get that OC in place. Even then, who knows?

HearstMining said:

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6956bear said:

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HearstMining said:

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I was a bit surprised that Mendoza didn't make the All-ACC Honorable Mention list, especially considering he won ACC QB of the week three times. Maybe if Cal had won a couple of those close conference games. I say this having only seen Cal's ACC opponents this season, so I don't know about several of the other QBs.

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Agree that not making honorable mention seems a little odd. But the ACC had some good QBs this season. Ward, McCord, Jennings, Klubnik just off the top. Winning matters. Even in individual awards.

Assuming Mendoza stays he likely gets a lot of love from the media and coaches in the run up to the 2025 season.

Lets fix the roster and staff.

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Yup - I was at the Syracuse game and McCord really impressed me. Of course, having an OL that actually gave him time to throw didn't hurt.

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McCord was terrific in that game. The 2nd half of this season he has been really good. The Syracuse OL provided him excellent protection and the scheme works really well with their personnel. I was very impressed by the Syracuse staff.

They outcoached Cal completely that day.

Someone on one of these threads suggested that we involve Mendoza in the recruitment of portal OL players. Ask him who he would most like of available players and go after them hard. This could give him some sense of control and further commitment. I think this is a good idea.

calumnus said:

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JimSox said:

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Daily Cal reports that Wilcox said Mendoza will be back next season. Is that how folks here interpreted what he said? Would make sense given his emotional "Cal Bears forever" interview. But as Fats Waller said, "One never knows, do one?"

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Mendoza is guaranteed to be the starter next year if Wilcox is still here, which is almost guaranteed. We will probably bring in a portal guy that will never play or, if in, we will only have him run. Mendoza won't find a better situation elsewhere.

Moreover, Mendoza is in Haas and needs another year to get a great degree. I don't see him walking from that for uncertainty just for NIL. His family is wealthy, his dad is a doctor, Furthermore, Cal fans love him and almost certainly value him more than the market does and so will kick in plenty of NIL. His situation at Cal is ideal. And yes, he clearly loves Cal and his teammates too.

The only outside chance is if his dad's high school teammate, Mario Cristobal, wants him at Miami which would allow him to be closer to his ailing mom. Even if Cristobal did (I think he has other targets) I am confident Mendoza stays another year for the reasons above. Miami as a grad transfer in 2026 is more likely, if at all.

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Supposedly Cristobal and Mendoza senior hadn't spoken to each other in decades until that game week. There are other suitors. One in particular that I could see him going to. Agents and family considerations. I don't think it would be a money issue. But nothing will ever surprise me in this era.

6956bear said:

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HearstMining said:

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6956bear said:

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HearstMining said:

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I was a bit surprised that Mendoza didn't make the All-ACC Honorable Mention list, especially considering he won ACC QB of the week three times. Maybe if Cal had won a couple of those close conference games. I say this having only seen Cal's ACC opponents this season, so I don't know about several of the other QBs.

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Agree that not making honorable mention seems a little odd. But the ACC had some good QBs this season. Ward, McCord, Jennings, Klubnik just off the top. Winning matters. Even in individual awards.

Assuming Mendoza stays he likely gets a lot of love from the media and coaches in the run up to the 2025 season.

Lets fix the roster and staff.

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Yup - I was at the Syracuse game and McCord really impressed me. Of course, having an OL that actually gave him time to throw didn't hurt.

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McCord was terrific in that game. The 2nd half of this season he has been really good. The Syracuse OL provided him excellent protection and the scheme works really well with their personnel. I was very impressed by the Syracuse staff.

They outcoached Cal completely that day.

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Cal's coaches got outcoached pretty often this past year. For that matter, Wilcox has been outcoached for most of his tenure at Cal.

https://calfansburden.com/shop/p/98-yards?utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer_notification


some absolute gems on there.

thanks for posting. opening the wallet now.

Mendoza was at the basketball game today in a Cal shirt. For whatever that means.

HearstMining said:

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I was a bit surprised that Mendoza didn't make the All-ACC Honorable Mention list, especially considering he won ACC QB of the week three times. Maybe if Cal had won a couple of those close conference games. I say this having only seen Cal's ACC opponents this season, so I don't know about several of the other QBs.

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Does the ACC not do the awards by coaches voting? In the Pac honorable mentions were sometimes submitted by the teams themselves.