For every talented football recruit, there's almost always a close call between School X and School Y. Rarely is a history-altering decision so dramatic in retrospect, yet to so ignored in the moment, than the time Fernando Mendoza came thisclose to committing to Georgia over Indiana.
Now, Mendoza is a Heisman-winning, national champion, No. 1 pick, telling the story on Bussin With the Boys from inside the Las Vegas Raiders indoor facility. Then, Mendoza was viewed as a "good, not great" portal prospect. He'd ranked 36th nationally in passing efficiency, throwing for just over 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns for a 6-7 Cal team.
At the time, Mendoza's choices were to replace Kurtis Rourke for a flash-in-the-pan Indiana, or to compete with Gunner Stockton to replace Carson Beck at Georgia. And if Kirby Smart had picked up the phone, Mendoza would have been a Bulldog.
I was really between Indiana and Georgia. Two fantastic programs. Indiana would have been less of a competition at quarterback. Georgia had Gunner Stockton, fantastic quarterback, great leader of men over there, he’s just fantastic," Mendoza recalled.
“It was a late night decision, at that point I was like ‘You know what? I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna go to Georgia. So I gave the phone three rings, and my mom was looking at me like ‘Ahhhhh’, and so I was like flip it. I hang up the phone. It wasn’t him not picking up. I was like, flip it. I took a sleep on it, and the next day, just prayed on it, and thank God.”
(Watching the video, it's amusing how Kirk Cousins practically tells the story for Mendoza before he finally takes over.)
Fernando Mendoza reveals he almost went to Georgia and actually called Kirby Smart late at night to commit, when he didn't pick up Mendoza slept on it, and with the guidance of his mom he changed his mind to Indiana
— Josh Chambers (@JoshChambers) August 20, 2026
“It was a late night decision, it was really coming down to… pic.twitter.com/fMvceS36mH
Some Georgia fans will undoubtedly lament what might've been had Kirby answered the phone that late December night. The truth is, no one had any idea the ramifications of Mendoza's Christmas Eve 2024 commitment to Indiana.
And believers in fate, destiny, intelligent design, whatever you want to call it, will say that Kirby was never meant to answer that call.