NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Fernando Mendoza answered a question Saturday about whether he would visit President Donald Trump at the White House to celebrate the Indiana Hoosiers college football championship.
Mendoza said he “believes” the scheduled date of the visit, May 11, was the first day of the Las Vegas Raiders’ scheduled team activities (OTAs). But he was wrong, as the Raiders’ OTAs don’t start until May 18.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE GAMES FOXNEWS.COM
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, attends a news conference at the Raiders Headquarters in Henderson, Nev., on April 24, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“If it’s the first day of OTAs, like I said, I’m at the bottom of the totem pole here, I have to prove myself, I can’t miss practice,” Mendoza told reporters at a Raiders press conference Saturday. “As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look. I want to try to help my teammates better, and I don’t think that would achieve that goal.”
The Raiders have nothing on their regular season schedule scheduled for May 11.
INDANA’S FERNANDO MENDOZA WINS 2025 HEISMAN TROPHY
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza looks on during warmups before the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Jan. 19, 2026. (Photos by Sam Navarro/Imagn)
Mendoza led Indiana to the college football championship and the first 16-0 season in modern sports history. The team announced that they visited the White House to celebrate this achievement on Friday.
Mendoza became one of the biggest names in sports while playing for Indiana last season, en route to the Heisman Trophy. He was the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
President Donald Trump hosts the NCAA national champions at the White House in this April 2026 photo. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The other college football stars who went on to be No. 1 picks, Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow, each visited Trump at the White House during the president’s first term. Lawrence visited in 2019 and Burrow in 2020.
Now, all eyes are on Mendoza, who etched his name in college football history and in the hearts of many football fans, to see if he will make the trip when he realizes OTAs aren’t on the same day as the visit.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on Xand register at Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
