By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director
The NFL Draft began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Thursday Night at the same time as the Indiana University Football Spring Game. Indiana Quarterback and 2025 Heisman Trophy Winner Fernando Mendoza heard his name called selected as the Number 1 Overall Pick by the Las Vegas Raiders. Mendoza was home in Miami with his family celebrating the moment and for the second time in program history and the first in 88 years Indiana University has Number 1 Overall NFL Draft Pick.
Fullback Corbett Davis was selected as the number 1 overall pick in the 1938 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Rams. The Hoosiers made history when Wide Receiver Omar Cooper Jr. was taken 30th overall by the New York Jets making it the first time in program history Indiana has had two first round picks in the same draft. The Hoosiers are expecting several players to hear their names called during the three-day draft that continues this evening with the second and third rounds and ends on Saturday with rounds four through seven.
Going into this draft Indiana has seen 184 players drafted and 221 play in the NFL. That number currently stands at 186 players drafted with more to come in the next couple of days. In 1976 the Hoosiers had seven players drafted, which is the most in a single draft and could be broken this year eight or more players projected to be selected. Mendoza is the highest Hoosier to be drafted in the first round since Wide Receiver Thomas Lewis went 24th to the New York Giants. Indiana now has 14 players selected in the first round of an NFL Draft. Wide Receiver Duane Gunn was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 23rd overall pick in the 1984 Supplemental Draft.
The Big Ten Conference had 10 first round picks, which is the most of any conference followed by the SEC with 7, Big 12 and the ACC with 6, Notre Dame with 2 and The Mountain West with 1. The Big Ten has won the last three College Football Playoff titles with Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024 and Indiana in 2025.
Mendoza transferred to IU from Cal in December 2024 and went on to post one of the greatest individual seasons in program history, undoubtedly the greatest team season in program history. He took the Hoosiers to a remarkable 16-0 season ending in their first-ever national championship, capturing wins in the Big Ten Championship Game, Rose Bowl, and Peach Bowl along the way. Mendoza also won Indiana’s first-ever Heisman Trophy, along with the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
The Miami native shattered IU’s single-season passing touchdown record, with 41 on the year. Mendoza also set a program single-season completion percentage record at 72 percent, and he finished second behind Nate Sudfeld with 3,535 passing yards last season. Mendoza will have a great chance to start with the Raiders right away. They signed Kirk Cousins as a free agent in early April, but the former Michigan State Spartan has acknowledged that one of his primary roles will be serving as a veteran mentor. The Raiders have made their interest in Mendoza very clear, as general manager John Spytek and new head coach Klint Kubiak both traveled to Bloomington to watch him throw at IU’s Pro Day.
The Hoosiers called Cooper’s number time and time again in 2025, and he came up with a lot of big plays. None will stick out in history more than his remarkable toe-tap touchdown catch at Penn State to win the game. He finished the national championship season as IU’s leading receiver, with 937 yards on 69 receptions with 13 touchdowns. Cooper will have a great chance to make an immediate impact for the Jets, alongside Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell at receiver. Cooper is an Indianapolis Native and Lawrence North High School Graduate and was at home celebrating with his family.
The Hoosiers finished the 2025 Season 16-0 winning the school’s first College Football Playoff National Championship and Mendoza became the school’s first Heisman Trophy Winner now more history as the pair become the first Hoosier duo be selected in the first round in the same draft and Mendoza a number 1 draft pick in 88 years. Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers are rewriting the History of Indiana University Football, and more history will be written this weekend as more Indiana Hoosiers hear their names called in the NFL Draft and Hoosier Nation will continue to celebrate every moment.