No greater repudiation of our head coach & program than the guy who bleeds blue and gold leaving for greener pastures. First JKS now Fernando, the future is unspeakably bleak.
Mendoza to Transfer Portal
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60 Replies |
Last: 3 hrs ago by Iamhere2help
Miami?
Say it isn't so. Many of us wondered about his leaving via the portal when he seemed pretty healthy sitting out on the sidelines of the SMU game.
NIL system needs to be tightened up.
NIL system needs to be tightened up.
Donate to Cal's NIL at https://calegends.com/donation/
Cupboard is bare.
Cal QB Fernando Mendoza plans to enter the transfer portal, a source confirmed to ESPN.
— Max Olson (@max_olson) December 11, 2024
The 19-game starter immediately becomes one of the top QBs on the market. Mendoza has 2 more seasons of eligibility. @chris_hummer had it first. pic.twitter.com/bTrD6kNq2L
Maybe he heard that thee new oc is bringing in all his guys from his present gig?
A guy can only take so many hits. Hopefully he finds a place with a good offensive line. Looks like Cal is going to face a rebuilding period for the next couple of years.
Devastating, but I don't blame him. He's lucky he wasn't seriously injured this year with all the hits he took, and he has potential that isn't being realized at Cal. He'll get life-changing NIL money, a chance to flourish in a better system, and a more stable coaching situation. He gives up a Cal degree, but he's a smart guy and will be successful after college regardless.
More broadly, though, if we can't figure out how to keep a guy like Mendoza, we have some very serious problems.
More broadly, though, if we can't figure out how to keep a guy like Mendoza, we have some very serious problems.
Bobodeluxe said:
Maybe he heard that thee new oc is bringing in all his guys from his present gig?
What gig? What guys? His fishing and golfing buddies?
DaveT said:
More broadly, though, if we can't figure out how to keep a guy like Mendoza, we have some very serious problems.
That is the heart of the matter and I think why this bothers us all so much.
grrrrah said:DaveT said:
More broadly, though, if we can't figure out how to keep a guy like Mendoza, we have some very serious problems.
That is the heart of the matter and I think why this bothers us all so much.
Wilcox is an idiot.
Mendoza confirmed he is an above average starting caliber qb on a power conference team. If he can turn that into a 6 figure payday, I'd recommend that for any 20 year old. Grab the money and invest it, build the nest egg for a house or retirement early.
Over here in Florida, FSU's Mike Norvell is being roasted for not developing QBs and striking out by relying on the transfer portal rather than improving his high school recruiting. At this point in history, the fat ba$tards are winning, but I'm proud of how the current staff developed Mendoza. He was weak at best and became a hot commodity despite our chronic history of weak OL play.
How hard have we been developing CJ Harris, EJ Caminong, and Andrew Maushardt?
On a side, can we get back to the discussion of natural grass in Memorial Stadium? AstroTurf was installed in Memorial Stadium in 1981 and remained until 1995. Natural grass returned in 1995, and varsity football practices were held at Witter Rugby Field, saving the stadium's grass field for game days only. We need to protect our OL knees and joints. Schools with natural grass will continue to win the OL recruiting battle over Cal until this changes.
How hard have we been developing CJ Harris, EJ Caminong, and Andrew Maushardt?
On a side, can we get back to the discussion of natural grass in Memorial Stadium? AstroTurf was installed in Memorial Stadium in 1981 and remained until 1995. Natural grass returned in 1995, and varsity football practices were held at Witter Rugby Field, saving the stadium's grass field for game days only. We need to protect our OL knees and joints. Schools with natural grass will continue to win the OL recruiting battle over Cal until this changes.
Donate to Cal's NIL at https://calegends.com/donation/
— Fernando Mendoza (@qb_fernando) December 11, 2024
You know at the time I kept thinking that the "98 yards with my boys" was so emotional that it felt like a goodbye. I didn't wanna rain on the parade but it stuck in the back of my head. I don't think any of us can blame the guy, he had one of the highest completion % in all of CFB, at one point he was one of 3 players with 3k+ yards (I believe that was with 2 games left), we couldn't protect him, he was our atlas on offense shouldering the burden, we didn't utilize his (or anyone else's) skillset to the fullest, etc.
His pops always looked furious when they showed him at our games and, even if you were optimistically hoping that was just his parent demeanor during all of his son's games, you honestly understand why. He can go make a boatload of money and showcase his talents somewhere where the program still has toes left because they haven't systematically shot them all off.
I wish Fernando the best, he was a great guy to have in our program and gave us some amazing moments in an otherwise depressing era (undefeated in Big Games, the Mendoza March, back-to-back bowl games (shouldn't be a celebrated accomplishment but that's where we are), and he was an amazing ambassador for our school. He also stabilized our QB position at a time where it was a complete mess.
Hopefully we see him on a 10+ win playoff contender next year like Plummer with Louisville after he left. I'll always only root for Fernando and wish the best for him. God bless and Go Bears!
His pops always looked furious when they showed him at our games and, even if you were optimistically hoping that was just his parent demeanor during all of his son's games, you honestly understand why. He can go make a boatload of money and showcase his talents somewhere where the program still has toes left because they haven't systematically shot them all off.
I wish Fernando the best, he was a great guy to have in our program and gave us some amazing moments in an otherwise depressing era (undefeated in Big Games, the Mendoza March, back-to-back bowl games (shouldn't be a celebrated accomplishment but that's where we are), and he was an amazing ambassador for our school. He also stabilized our QB position at a time where it was a complete mess.
Hopefully we see him on a 10+ win playoff contender next year like Plummer with Louisville after he left. I'll always only root for Fernando and wish the best for him. God bless and Go Bears!
Deja vu, all over again.GoCal80 said:
A guy can only take so many hits. Hopefully he finds a place with a good offensive line. Looks like Cal is going to face a rebuilding period for the next couple of years.
So much for the supposedly informed premium board members assuring us that he was here to stay
Possibly. Or perhaps Bloomington.Bear_Territory said:
Miami?
Wherever he lands, I hope he has an offensive line that will protect him, and a coach who values offense.
You picked up on the irony. Good. We are making progress. This session is over, so look to another thread.concernedparent said:Bobodeluxe said:
Maybe he heard that thee new oc is bringing in all his guys from his present gig?
What gig? What guys? His fishing and golfing buddies?
Start Harris in the bowl game.
Next man up.oskidunker said:
Start Harris in the bowl game.
Transferred to Berkeley City College.oskidunker said:
Start Harris in the bowl game.
Shocky-ing!!,DoubtfulBear said:
So much for the supposedly informed premium board members assuring us that he was here to stay
Billionaires bought themselves a President and now college football teams. The amounts of money flowing into NIL is really obscene. Whoever has the most NIL dollars wins.
This ain't about money, WilcoxGrrrrah76 said:
Billionaires bought themselves a President and now college football teams. The amounts of money flowing into NIL is really obscene. Whoever has the most NIL dollars wins.
This is more on the portal. NIL just accelerated things but ultimately it's the ability to transfer as many times as you want with no penalty that is the undoing. In this case, even without NIL I bet we lose Mendoza. Any player with NFL aspirations is going to look to upgrade in terms of profile, opportunity to put up big numbers, coaching staff, etc.Grrrrah76 said:
Billionaires bought themselves a President and now college football teams. The amounts of money flowing into NIL is really obscene. Whoever has the most NIL dollars wins.
It's about both.Strykur said:This ain't about money, WilcoxGrrrrah76 said:
Billionaires bought themselves a President and now college football teams. The amounts of money flowing into NIL is really obscene. Whoever has the most NIL dollars wins.
It's also about dollars. Phil Knight in Oregon and Ellison in Michigan buying 5* quarterbacks. Mendoza will get millions before he plays a down in the NFL, which is not a sure thing. Looks like he learned something at Hass. 
This sounds like I'm gone, not just testing the waters.westcoastdude said:— Fernando Mendoza (@qb_fernando) December 11, 2024
Our football program is dead. Wilcox has killed it.
Behind door #1 is a lot of money, a good team, a solid OL, relative stability, good coaching, and more wins. Door #2 is less money, a lousy OL, massive instability, mediocre coaching, and a .500 season. He chose door #1. We gave Mendoza no reason to stay.Grrrrah76 said:
It's also about dollars. Phil Knight in Oregon and Ellison in Michigan buying 5* quarterbacks. Mendoza will get millions before he plays a down in the NFL, which is not a sure thing. Looks like he learned something at Hass.
This just breaks my heart. With each year my belief in the mission and value and ethics of college football diminished. Then along came Mendoza. He seemed like everything that I liked about Cal Football. A "real" Cal guy that I rooted for and tuned in for and brought me back to my hey days of rooting for Cal. To see him abandon the team and just be another self-interested pawn (no matter how valid his decision) just shows how terrible the system is. What are we supposed to root for anymore? Is the Cal Football experience trying to learn the name and story of good players in a few games before they transfer, get injured, quit...? How is that anything like watching a kid for 4-5 years and cheering for him representing your school and watching him develop and the shared sense of community and values? This is even less real than rooting for laundry: we're rooting for mercenaries wearing the laundry week to week.
The basic proposition of college football now is that the same top 25 teams just reorder themselves each year and develop for the NFL and the corrupt (now legal) dollars and media and bro culture flows with them. And everyone else spends their limited pools to try and be one of the big boys but are actually just developing their talent and coaches for the top 25 teams to take. Is there any part of America not totally corrupted by money, influence, and rule-bending for the entrenched power? Him leaving just makes me all the more cynical and disinterested.
In the past I planned my wedding and other important events around Cal football, was identified by my love for the Bears, spent years of my life making a TV show about the specialness of Cal Fandom...and now the whole thing just sickens me. I can't believe we all let this happen out of greed and letting the "win at all cost/if you're not cheating you're not trying" meatheads win.
The basic proposition of college football now is that the same top 25 teams just reorder themselves each year and develop for the NFL and the corrupt (now legal) dollars and media and bro culture flows with them. And everyone else spends their limited pools to try and be one of the big boys but are actually just developing their talent and coaches for the top 25 teams to take. Is there any part of America not totally corrupted by money, influence, and rule-bending for the entrenched power? Him leaving just makes me all the more cynical and disinterested.
In the past I planned my wedding and other important events around Cal football, was identified by my love for the Bears, spent years of my life making a TV show about the specialness of Cal Fandom...and now the whole thing just sickens me. I can't believe we all let this happen out of greed and letting the "win at all cost/if you're not cheating you're not trying" meatheads win.
The Bear will not quilt, the Bear will not dye!
Not surprised and they'll be a lot more coming. I think we should all celebrate anyone who escapes this clown car right now. Worst coaching staff in FBS by far.
Can you blame him?Bearly Clad said:
His pops always looked furious when they showed him at our games
At any other school in the country, Wilcox and the AD would haver been fired along time ago.
m2bear said:Can you blame him?Bearly Clad said:
His pops always looked furious when they showed him at our games
At any other school in the country, Wilcox and the AD would haver been fired along time ago.
These should be "congratulations" threads for all transfers. Big congrats to Mendoza for escaping this **** show.
I started off being a Cal fan as a little kid thanks to my grandmother, then a college football fan, back to just a Cal fan because the game I loved is absolutely ruined.
I will never stop supporting Cal and will continue to go to games with no high hopes (more of a fun socializing event with people I've met over the years), but I'm done with CFB as a whole. I was already headed that way, anyways.
I will never stop supporting Cal and will continue to go to games with no high hopes (more of a fun socializing event with people I've met over the years), but I'm done with CFB as a whole. I was already headed that way, anyways.
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