Scouting Fernando Mendoza: What Makes the Indiana QB a Wide Receiver’s Dream

Summary

Podcast Summary: The McShay Show – "Scouting Fernando Mendoza: What Makes the Indiana QB a Wide Receiver’s Dream"

Episode Information

• Title: Scouting Fernando Mendoza: What Makes the Indiana QB a Wide Receiver’s Dream
• Host/Author: The Ringer
• Release Date: June 12, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The McShay Show, hosts Steve and Mitch dive deep into the performance and potential of Fernando Mendoza, the quarterback transfer from California to Indiana University (IU). With the NFL Draft looming just 316 days away, Mendoza has emerged as a key prospect, attracting significant attention from scouts and analysts alike.

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Fernando Mendoza’s Background

Fernando Mendoza began his collegiate career at Cal, where he redshirted in 2022. He took over as the starting quarterback on October 12th of that year against Oregon State, showcasing his potential despite a challenging first season.

Steve [06:12]: "He began his career at Cal. He redshirted in 2022. Took over as a starter on October 12th that year against Oregon State. Played nine games, started eight."

In his initial year as a starter, Mendoza completed 63% of his passes, throwing 14 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. This performance was considered average, reflecting the typical ups and downs of a freshman quarterback adapting to college-level play.

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Performance Analysis

Mendoza showed significant improvement in his second year. His completion rate increased to nearly 69%, with 16 touchdowns and only six interceptions over 20 career games. This upward trajectory indicates his adaptability and growth as a quarterback.

Steve [06:12]: "In 2024, completed almost 69% of his throws, 16 touchdowns, just six interceptions."

Despite his progress, both hosts acknowledge areas needing improvement. One critical concern is his tendency to throw interceptions due to challenges in reading defensive alignments, particularly linebackers dropping into coverage.

Mitch [10:55]: "He has a problem with reading guys who drop underneath, specifically linebackers who drop underneath when he's throwing over the middle."

Grading and Attribute Evaluation

The hosts employed a grading system to assess Mendoza’s key attributes as a quarterback, rating each on a scale from elite to marginal.

1. Mental Makeup

   • Steve: Grade 2 (09:54)
   • Mitch: Grade 3.5 (09:54)

2. Accuracy

   • Steve: Grade 1.5 (10:04)
   • Mitch: Grade 2 (10:13)

3. Release and Arm Strength

   • Steve: Grade 1.5 (10:11)
   • Mitch: Grade 2 (10:20)

4. Pocket Mobility

   • Steve: Grade 3 (10:40)
   • Mitch: Grade 2 (10:43)

These evaluations highlight Mendoza’s strengths in accuracy and arm strength, while also pointing out his need for better decision-making under pressure and enhanced pocket mobility.

Steve [10:34]: "I like this guy. You see those? Chubby cheeks."

Comparisons to Other QBs

Mitch and Steve draw comparisons between Mendoza and established NFL quarterbacks to contextualize his potential.

Steve [12:52]: "I gave him a Jared Goff comp."

Additionally, Mitch correlates Mendoza’s style to that of quarterbacks who have thrived in similar offensive schemes, emphasizing his fit within Indiana’s offensive strategy.

Mitch [20:46]: "If you think about the RPOs that Indiana wants to run... I'm optimistic that this kid could take a big jump this year in this offense."

Draft Prospects and Rankings

The discussion shifts to Mendoza’s standing among his peers in the upcoming draft class. Both hosts express optimism about the depth and talent of the quarterback pool, mentioning several other notable prospects like Nussmeier, Sellers, Clubnick, and Aller.

Mitch [29:14]: "I'm just gonna go off the top of my mind. I'm gonna rank them..."

The ranking reflects a healthy competition and suggests that Mendoza is among a group of quarterbacks poised to make significant impacts in the NFL.

Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Steve and Mitch anticipate a significant development in Mendoza’s performance as he gains more experience and hones his skills under Indiana’s coaching staff. They highlight Indiana’s history of successfully integrating transfer quarterbacks into their system, which bodes well for Mendoza’s future.

Mitch [20:37]: "I'm optimistic that this kid could take a big jump this year in this offense."

Both hosts agree that Mendoza has the potential to elevate his game, especially in high-stakes matches against formidable opponents like Oregon and Penn State. They emphasize the importance of observing his performance in these crucial games to better assess his readiness for the NFL.

Conclusion

Steve and Mitch conclude the episode by reaffirming their enthusiasm for Mendoza’s prospects and the overall strength of the upcoming draft class. They tease future episodes that will continue to monitor Mendoza’s progress and explore other promising quarterbacks.

Steve [33:44]: "This class is exciting. I laughed at it."

The episode wraps up with a promise to keep listeners informed and engaged as the NFL Draft approaches, maintaining a focus on meticulous scouting and insightful analysis.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Steve [06:12]: "He began his career at Cal. He redshirted in 2022..."
• Mitch [10:55]: "He has a problem with reading guys who drop underneath..."
• Steve [12:52]: "I gave him a Jared Goff comp."
• Mitch [20:37]: "I'm optimistic that this kid could take a big jump this year..."
• Steve [33:44]: "This class is exciting. I laughed at it."

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Supporting Resources

• Full 1st Round Coverage: YouTube Live
• Subscribe to The McShay Report: Beehiiv Subscription

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This episode provides a comprehensive analysis of Fernando Mendoza's capabilities and his potential trajectory toward the NFL, offering valuable insights for NFL enthusiasts and draft followers alike.

Transcript

[Todd McShay]

Now you can watch the best of Hulu on Disney, like season two of nine, Perfect Strangers with Hulu on Disney and Star Wars Andor Season 2 on Disney. All of these and more now streaming with Hulu on Disney with a bundle subscription available with bundle plans starting at $10.99 a month. Terms apply. Visit disneyplus.com hulu for details. This Father's Day, give your dad the Forever Wanted elixir by Azaro Parfums, an intoxic, intoxicating fragrance where leather notes merge with the addictive red fruits. Discover the Azara Wanted collection for Father's Day at Macy's.

[Steve]

Man, do we have a fun one today. There's nothing better than a pleasant surprise in scouting. Let me just share the secret with you. It is a job that forces you to be cynical. Find the negative and end everything. Find the reasons why a player will fail. So when an unexpected player jumps off the tape, you've got to appreciate it. Soak it up. Embrace the moment. That's today's show, folks. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, 316 days from the NFL draft. Men, you good?

[Mitch]

I'm good, man.

[Steve]

Let's roll this. Gotta agree, right, Mitch? Like you gotta agree here.

[Mitch]

These are the best. You really are the best.

[Steve]

I don't even. You may think he sucks, but I don't. There's a new Mendoza Line, man. There's a new Mendoza line. I'm excited. Fernando Mendoza, Cal transfer to Indiana. We're going to get into that in a second. A couple things off the top. I'm told to just shut up. Just shut up and play ball is what all the our our audience is telling us. So you mensch can share with all of our loyal audience members, people who are here, how they can help support us. Because I'm not even allowed to thank them anymore. Go.

[Mitch]

Go to the YouTube channel the McShay show and hit the subscribe button on it there. Go to Spotify. Hit the follow button. Also, he's at McShade 13 on all his socials and Instagram and X. I'm at you good mech. That's M N C H. And again, please consider subscribing to the McShay show, the McShay Report. Sorry, I got him mixed up.

[Steve]

You can subscribe to both if you want.

[Mitch]

Yeah, you can do it for free. But I. If you're there, you might as well just get it because he's going to get you eventually. Trust me just that. He's that good of a salesman.

[Steve]

Like it mentioned 25 years later.

[Mitch]

Might as well just put the credit.

[Steve]

Card down and it's not much. It's not much. But today, if you're watching the show right now, and if it's Thursday morning, It's out. The McShay report is out. We got the Fernando Mendoza breakdown, full breakdown, like in detail, including a ton of plays. We're doing that with every quarterback that we do. And as we get further into the the off season, we'll do it with position groups and we'll see you all the way up into the mock draft, the appropriately early mock draft in August and all of our position rankings and preseason heading in. We're just going to get you ready for the season. If you, if you're a college football fan, an NFL fan or NFL draft fan, we got you covered. Okay, so that's that. I did find this interesting. We've got a new fan, Mensch. Her name is Betsy. She's been watching this show since she was literally one day old. Okay. We, we are told by Anna Murray, her mama, that she stops crying when we, when we put you guys on is what she said. She said. Not sure who she enjoys more, Todd or Steve. I think you can tell by this video we're about to show in a second that it's Steve because who wouldn't? I mean, look at, look at the big fella.

[Mitch]

People asleep, man.

[Steve]

Well, in the voice and the dulcet tones coming out of the mensch. But she said goes on to say, but we love you guys. Video proof attached. P.S. loving the summer content and QB deep dives Anna Murray. So, Anna, we thank you. We thank you and your family.

[Mitch]

Thank you.

[Steve]

Let's check out this video of Mensch keeping a wonderful daughter named Betsy at peace.

[Mitch]

Button on the YouTube channel. Hit the follow button on Spotify. I don't know Apple.

[Steve]

Is it following? I do love how you still don't know. Is he following Apple? You think I'd figure it out. So if you've got any more videos, you got any footage, that's summertime, man. Let's like, let's have some fun together. We're working on it. By the way, a summer Spotify playlist too. Getting DJX involved.

[Mitch]

Yeah, I thought I might get. We might get one song and McShay gets like 15. Is that how it's gonna work?

[Steve]

No, I want everyone on the show.

[Mitch]

I, I, I. All right.

[Steve]

Like, I'm excited to see. I mean, we know you're gonna have some jam band music and we can.

[Mitch]

25 minute tweezer jam.

[Steve]

And I' you know, I. I'll show my age, but I'll try to be cool and that won't work either. But I want to see, like, what's Tuck into? What's our boy Tucker into? What about Dan Connor? Like, Mark, Eduardo?

[Mitch]

Yeah. What's Eduardo got going on?

[Steve]

That's. This is kind of like a, you know, this is a moment of truth. So we're going to work on that with djx, who is awesome, by the way. I told you, I met him in Detroit. Let's just dive into this.

[Mitch]

Yeah, let's go.

[Steve]

Fernando Mendoza had to figure out the first challenge was which. Which Mendoza Brother. His brother's Indiana. Well, as well. Six five, 220 pounds. Estimated 485-4940. Okay. Began his career faster than that.

[Mitch]

I think he's faster than that.

[Steve]

I. The estimates online, if I'm being honest, were like 495. I dropped it to 485. I think he's. We'll get into it. Okay.

[Mitch]

I can scoot. He can scoot, man.

[Steve]

He began his career at Cal. He redshirted in 2022. I didn't play snap as far as I. I could see. Took over as a starter on October 12th that year against Oregon State. It was. Yeah. Played nine games, started eight. Okay. And completed 63 of his past percent of his passes. 14 touchdowns, 10 interceptions. Kind of, you know, up and down, as you would expect. Kind of. Not only was it his first year as a starter, he kind of got, you know, he jumped into that role, but I thought he made a huge. We talked about Drew Aller the other day. From year one to year two. Well, this was like, you could tell it was a season where he wasn't expected to start in 23. Got his starts, had some ups and downs, but a big jump in 2024. Okay. Completed almost 69% of his throws, 16 touchdowns, just six interceptions. Okay. So he's played in 20 career games. He's got 19 starts going into the season, which I like. You go. You go rip off another. Another 13. We're talking about, you know, 32 games played, 31 starts, something like that. Yeah. And he's obviously like Kirk Signetti for as crazy as the quotes are and the behavior and some of the stuff like my man can coach and. And. And he also knows how to recruit. And if he did not get a absolute rising star in this guy, by the way, Mendoza was.

[Mitch]

He was third in the. All right, go ahead, go ahead. Do your thing.

[Steve]

Nothing, bud.

[Mitch]

Yeah, he's good, man. Listen, he was third in the ACC in passing yards per game last, last year behind McCord at Syracuse, who had a monster year. No one threw the ball more than Syracuse. McCord put up monster numbers. Cam Ward, the first overall pick at Miami, and then Fernando Mendoza at Cal. And behind him, Cade Clubnik from Clemson was at 5. Tyler Shuck from Louisville was at 4. He, you know, the touchdowns. Didn't throw a lot of touchdowns. He's tied for 10th in the ACC. But when you look at those yards per game and then you throw on the tape and you're like, oh, boy, this. This kid can play. Let's get into the.

[Steve]

Let's go into the.

[Mitch]

Before we launch into it too much, all right?

[Steve]

Position specific traits. We do this for every. Every position and we do it for quarterbacks. And during the summer scouting series, we, we started out, like, trying to be like. We'll go by mental makeup and we'll, we'll give five minutes on that and accuracy. And it just was a boring show. We're here to self scout as well and self admit. I think it's more fun the way we've been doing it recently. Let's rip through the 4 position. Position specific traits. Okay. For the quarterback position, I'll tell you those now. Mental makeup. Accuracy, release, slash, arm strength. We talk about like, lta load to arrival. Whatever it is from the set, the millisecond that a quarterback goes to pull the trigger to when the ball arrives is essentially what we're measuring there. And there's no scientific measure. It is years and years of scouting experience. Okay. And then there's pocket mobility. And as we always share. And I'll do it if this is the first time you're watching. One is elite, two is good, three is average, four is below average, five is marginal. Golf score, as I always say, lower the better. So let's just rip it off. You tell me your score for each. Your grade. Sorry. For each, and I will give you mine and we'll go through and then I'll let you take the floor. We'll run with it and we'll give some NFL comps and we'll talk about what we think is next for Mendoza. Mental makeup. What was your grade?

[Mitch]

Three and a half. This one was tough. Really? Yeah.

[Steve]

Sorry. Yeah, I went with 2, but considered 1.5.

[Mitch]

Wow. Here we go. Let's get into it.

[Steve]

Accuracy 2. I went 1.5.

[Mitch]

Okay. I'm fine with that.

[Steve]

Release arm 2. 1.5. Wow.

[Mitch]

You. Wow.

[Steve]

I like this guy.

[Mitch]

Yeah, a lot, huh?

[Steve]

You See those?

[Mitch]

I like them.

[Steve]

Chubby cheeks.

[Mitch]

I like them too, but. All right, what'd you give him for pocket mobility?

[Steve]

One. Three.

[Mitch]

Three. I gave him a two. This is good. We've agreed on a lot of stuff. Yeah. I want to hear the mental makeup right away. And I'll. And I'll tell you why. What my concerns are.

[Steve]

Okay.

[Mitch]

Six interceptions last year. I thought that number could have been a lot higher. I think he has a. He has a problem with reading guys who drop underneath about. Specifically linebackers who drop underneath and on when he's throwing over the middle. Also, you look at Auburn, he had.

[Steve]

That nickel, that nickel corner. Florida State was it this morning. I was making him watch 20 plays of tape every day through a pick.

[Mitch]

Right to the linebacker. In the Miami game. Yeah, the Florida State game, there was a play. He has a problem with that read. He's got to develop that read a little bit more. I think this number could easily jump significantly.

[Steve]

127, second quarter, bad read. Doesn't see nickel under contract. Wide receiver, easy pick. What. What was he seeing here is whatever.

[Mitch]

Okay, good stare down receiver against Auburn. If the Auburn corner doesn't. Yeah.

[Steve]

Drop the pick.

[Mitch]

It's going. It's going the other way.

[Steve]

But go back and watch that again.

[Mitch]

I know, I. I know what you're gonna say.

[Steve]

That the receiver was. It was cushioned. It was off coverage.

[Mitch]

Yes, I know.

[Steve]

Break it. And he was like, all right, go ahead.

[Mitch]

Yeah, I think you're bailing them out a little bit. Just gonna be honest.

[Steve]

Not on that one, but go ahead.

[Mitch]

Oh, and I, I also thought that he had. He wasn't terrible, but Syracuse and Miami were two of the bigger games for them last year, and he was just okay in those games. I want to see the step up this year. You're. I mean, you're going to. What do they have? I think they have Oregon in October in Eugene and then Penn State in November in. At Happy Valley. Welcome to the big leagues. Like, you know, the acc. That's a tough. That's a tough run in the acc. It's a little bit different when you go into Eugene to play that Oregon team. I want to see how he elevates his game, how well he plays in those games. I give him 3.5. Maybe. That's harsh. Three maybe is a better number, but I'm not ready to go higher than that until I see some. Like, the way he reads defenses gets a little bit better for me.

[Steve]

I do like the fact that He's. He's tall 6, 5. He sees the whole field. I think he can. I do. Yes, he is well put. He does. He can see the whole field. He does go through progressions quickly. All sometimes maybe you could argue a little rushed. I think he has very good instincts on the move and we can get to some of that stuff, too. Very comfortable outside the pocket. I also love his toughness. Man, this guy hanging in the. When he does decide he's. He's going. He's going to see his reads through. He is. I'll just say I, I gave him a Jared Goff comp.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Steve]

I also want to, I want to make this perfectly clear. And I'm actually. It's an indictment on me. I'm. I'm self reporting here. I'm such an idiot. I, I actually gave. I was going through. I keep my quarterback list. I was going through sometimes, like, like Nussmeier with Baker Mayfield. It's like, Baker, sometimes I'm like, like you said, you struggle sometimes, like, well, let me go through. And I was a golf, right? So I like, I went through golf and started writing up some of the comparisons between the two. Not perfect. None of these things are perfect. I'm such fucking idiot sometimes, man.

[Mitch]

What'd you say?

[Steve]

No, nothing. I didn't say anything, but I literally gave the comp in like three hours. Later, I was looking down at my notes and I was like, oh, yeah, golf went to Cal, too. This looks so lazy.

[Mitch]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Steve]

I hate when people make lazy cops. Like, oh, I hate when.

[Mitch]

I hate when people get worried about getting accused of making a lazy comp and then they just don't do it. You know, it's. If it's a good comp, it's a good comp.

[Steve]

I think it's a good comp. And it wasn't. The Cal thing was my. The whole point of that. Right. All right, well, I. Let me, let me give you the reasons. I love them and then you can counter. And it's not going to be, you know, it's not going to be structured by necessarily the, the position specific traits.

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[E]

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[Steve]

The son of a gun is tough in the pocket. But more importantly, not more importantly, as importantly, but what stood out to me more than anything on his tape. He knows where to put the football and that's why I think my accuracy grade was higher than your accuracy grade. Not by, not a huge difference. I, I don't know that if we talk about missing in the strike zone, it's not even that like he, and yeah, he missed. Like he's not perfect but like defensive back with his back to him. He, he gives his receivers the, the best trajectory and angle and opportunity to go up and make the play in the ball. He does it down the left rail, does it down the right rail. He does it on a post. He does like he does it on the, on the quick short like short fade in the middle of the field. It was like over and over again. Back shoulder fade. I know a lot of guys really.

[Mitch]

Good with the back shoulder.

[Steve]

It's unbelievable with the back shoulder fade and, and then on top of that, I do think he's impatient sometimes and while he can go through his reads quickly, he bails on his read early. But he's just a pup, man.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Steve]

And so like I'm expecting a big. Just like we expect a big jump, not a big jump. We, we know the areas that we have to see from Aller. We just talked about on Monday to see that improvement and it's, it's performing in big games. It's not jitters, it's not getting affected by pressure. It's foot agility. It's. It's throwing on the move with him. Go ahead.

[Mitch]

Can I tell, can I tell you why I'm optimistic about that jump? Listen to this. Because I went back and I was. And you, you think about Signetti and his offense coordinator Mike Shanahan. This is the third year in a row, fourth year in a row they are bringing in a transfer quarterback. Okay. That they've done this before. They're a JMU before Indiana.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

So let's start at JMU 2022. They bring in Todd Senteo from Colorado state. They go 8 and 3. He's the sun Belt Conference player of the year. You're like, ah, Sunbelt, whatever. That's the first year the JMU played Division one football. They go eight and three and have the offensive player of the year as their quarterback who they brought in from Colorado State. What do they do next year? They go and get Jordan McLeod who's at Arizona and Temple. Go 11, 2 and guess who's the Sun Belt offensive player of the year. Jordan McLeod. Who did they go out and get? Curtis Rourke from Ohio. He comes in. I think he set the passing record for touchdowns in a season at Indiana. Ends up being a seventh round pick. Who we both talked about like, wow, San Francisco getting Curtis Rourke in the seventh round. Why? You know, eyebrows shot up a little bit of like what could happen here? They know, they know what they want in a. In a player in terms of quarterback. You think about the RPOs that did Indiana wants to run. You think about the deep shots they like to take sometimes off those RPOs.

[Steve]

Man, I look at Mendoza somewhat similar too. It's not going to be a complete. Yeah.

[Mitch]

And you can't. I think you mentioned it. Alberto Mendoza, the younger brother, is at Indiana. Do you think they know what they're getting from this family and this human being and the player that's coming in? Man, I'm the fit. The, the way I. Indiana's identified quarterbacks in the way he fits in their scheme? I'm optimistic that this kid could take a big jump this year in this offense.

[Steve]

Well, you think about Rourke and the thing with Rorker is he couldn't move.

[Mitch]

Apparently he was playing on I.

[Steve]

But last year on tape, whatever it like. I'm not here to evaluate Rourke. I'm here to tell you my man couldn't move.

[Mitch]

Right. Mendoza's. I even, even if he was healthy, I think Mendoza is a step up in terms of. Of mobility.

[Steve]

Mendoza is a step up in mobility and he's even more accurate, I think. And he's got. And he's got a better arm. Yes, he's got a better arm.

[Mitch]

Live arm, man.

[Steve]

So you're getting all the positives from ror. It's like a ROR plus situation. If you're iu. This is an upgrade.

[Mitch]

Yeah, I agree. You think about that mobility too. When you look at when he was at Cal and you talked about this, they love to roll him. They love to get him outside the pocket. I wonder if Cal had some protection issues. They would get him outside the pocket. And one of the things I really liked is when the force defender would step up because obviously you're watching tape on Cal. They want to get this guy outside the pocket. He's a problem when he gets outside the pocket. You're going to have a force defender, someone there to prevent him from getting outside. And I saw it a few times. He'd play in his foot and then shoot right up field on the inside of the force defender. So if you're taking something away, he adjusts to it and makes a play with his feet. I, I was really impressed by that. And like I said, I think he could scoot like you. He had a 50 yard run against Stanford. When I went back, I didn't look at the stats. I went back and I saw that he had 102 rushing yards on the year and was stunned because of how well I think he runs when he takes off. I think, I mean I wouldn't be surprised if we ran the four sevens, maybe low four eights. I think he's got some like a much better speed than a 49 guy.

[Steve]

Yeah. But I think he's 47 at best. I think he's probably 475 to 4 8. 48 probably in that range. I don't think he's fast, I don't think. But, but coming off of aller he looked like.

[Mitch]

You're saying that's true too. Right.

[Steve]

The. Here's the other thing. Snap, snap delivery. Crisp just like. And. And it comes down the back. Shoot a touch, whatever. But it's crisp. It like it, it's. It's just like quick and crisp and snap like there just snap. Then the ball snaps off his hand. It's like, you know. Yeah, and. And he's got good energy. He. We talked about with Allard, the energy on the. On the deep ball at the end. Like you're looking for like a Scud missile or a Patriot missile. Going back to showing my age where the, The. You see the target like the last second, like, you know, his ball comes in. And then again, I keep going back in my mind from watching him. The, the placement of. Is not just the placement, okay? It's the trajectory of the placement. He's a fucking wide receiver's dream. The backs turn on a db. Give me the ball here. Don't make me go here. Don't make me fight through him. Give me the ball here. Make me. Let me come back to it. Not because you underthrew it, but because you purposely spotted it here. If I got a step on the guy, get it over his head. And he did it over and over and over again on tape, man. His ball doesn't flutter or sail at the end. It comes in. He's got energy. There was a throw I was watching. Yeah, it was right after the. It was right. And I like this. It was shortly after the interception. Terrible. The easy pick we just talked about. I had Tate in the office today driving him crazy because I got him off Fortnite for a minute and I got him watching. I got him watching tape train his brain on something else. 5:14, the second quarter. So it was. Yeah, I don't know, it was a few minutes after that interception on, you know, game time, rolling to his right from his own end zone. I don't know if you remember this play against Florida State, just like the. The Kuyans, the onions. Because this. You got his own coverage in the. In the corners. Got the flat and he's rolling to his right and he's. He's literally like 6, 7 yards in his own end zone. And you just threw a terrible pick and. And you see the DB is coming. But to trust your arm on the move and to make that throw and it was like, feel like just out of the, you know, extended arm from the. Or hand from the defensive back. There was just a lot of cool stuff on tape for a guy that I'll self admit again, I was like, why are we. Like, why are we doing a Cal quarterback in this summer scouting series? Like, let's see him in IU for a year. Let's, you know, like, no, no disrespect to Cal, but like, I. I just didn't Know a whole lot about him. And I texted the scout, and he's like, yeah, I've gotten to his tape. And I'm like, I don't know. And Men. Men. Starts watching him. He's like, no, we're doing a show on Mendoza. And I'm like, all right, so we'll watch. So I start watching. Save him. Like, oh, yeah, we're. We're doing a show on Mendoza.

[Mitch]

Yeah. I thought there was. He could beat pressure with his feet. I also thought there was a couple times where he recognized where the pressure was coming and through to the vacated area. Like, he could beat it with his feet, he could beat it with his arm. There was some. And you know, when you do look at some of the stuff of getting through the reads. I saw that, too. He can get to his third read. The. The height, all that adding up. And I get all that. The. The only mental makeup thing for me was there was a couple times. Was like, he's not seeing that. I've seen that now four or five times. To know that that's fooling him, and that's something you could fix. That's something he could work on with more reps. But that and me wanting to see him on a bigger stage was why my mental makeup grade wasn't as high as yours.

[Steve]

But he's tall. He's got fast eyes. He can see the whole field. He's tough. He hangs in the pocket. He's deadly accurate on a lot of.

[Mitch]

We agree on that one. He's under pressure. He makes a lot of plays. Go ahead. Sorry.

[Steve]

He's deadly accurate rolling to his right especially. But even to his left. He makes a lot. It makes some good throws. He's not fast, but he's mobile. And he's got some quickness to him. And he's. And he's instinctive as a runner. That's the other thing. He's not like an rpo, and maybe he'll do more of that this year and he'll have some success. But he's. He's not like a designed run guy that you're. That we're trying to bring that from the college game to the NFL.

[Mitch]

He runs the RPO where he's going to hand to the back or throw it to the slot or the.

[Steve]

And occasionally, like he might. He's. Yeah.

[Mitch]

Yes.

[Steve]

Yeah. But you. You combine all the. And then. And then the zip and the energy on the ball and then understanding, like, where to put the ball and the trajectory and the touch and the timing, like, get A pen out. You got a pen there?

[Mitch]

I do.

[Steve]

Kids don't use pens anymore. Paper. All right, Arch Manning aside.

[Mitch]

Oh, no, we're stacking them now.

[Steve]

Just want to have a conversation. Arch Manning. Arch Manning. We Both agree that's 2027 story until otherwise notified.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Steve]

So in a good way. And we're not saying, well, he's not ready, like, just in a good way. I just think the Manning. Right. Keep Arch.

[Mitch]

There's just not enough.

[Steve]

There's not enough developmental process that the. The Manning family is acutely aware of. And unless some circumstance change or he has a year that. Whatever it is, I. I just fully expect it to be 2027. So we have done Nussmeier from LSU. We have done the two state of South Carolina quarterbacks. Now in. In Sellers. I'm writing it down. Sellers and Club Nick. We have done Aller and we have done Mendoza. We're going to do Matier. Is Arizona State eligible? Is Levin eligible? We might do Levitt, too.

[Mitch]

Yeah. The Baylor kid's pretty good, too, by the way. There's. There's some guys in the weeds.

[Steve]

I told you. I told you. I talked to a scout this morning who's like, this class is like. Is shape. Yeah.

[Mitch]

There's some kids in the weeds here.

[Steve]

Like, I haven't heard the word sick in a while, but it's pretty. I laughed at it.

[Mitch]

Dope.

[Steve]

Yeah. So Nussmeier, Sellers, Club Nick, Aller, Mendoza. Rank them.

[Mitch]

God, I hate you right now. This is what I do to you. This is the. That I do to you.

[Steve]

Well, payback's a. All right.

[Mitch]

I'm just gonna go off the top of my mind. I'm gonna get off the show. I'm gonna go upstairs and I'm gonna. I'm gonna hate myself because I'm gonna get this wrong because I'm gonna want to change it. First of all, Sellers is my one. I feel very comfortable with Sellers as my one right now. That's the guy to me. I compared him to Josh Allen. I better have him as my number one. And then I'm gonna go Clubnik. I know that might surprise some people, but Clemson, I love you, Clubnik. Aller. Nussmeier, Mendoza. Yeah, right. You put yourself in this. This position, my man.

[Steve]

Yeah, it's a terrible.

[Mitch]

We're gonna do. We're gonna do a whole show about this, right?

[Steve]

Of course we are. I'm saying, like, currently where we are, and we'll also go back and then re. Watch and refresh. Like, this process is Just starting. All right, See, I, I view Sellers at this point in his process the same way I viewed Jaylen Milro last year when we started the show in October.

[Mitch]

Wow.

[Steve]

He's. No, no, no, no. Listen. Would you listen before you re.

[Mitch]

Wow. No, no. What, what fun is that as a.

[Steve]

As a wild card? I'm not saying they're the same, although I did talk to a scout who actually said, like, Milro is his comp. I'm not even saying that that's his comp. That's not mine. I'm not comparing. What I'm comparing is the point in their development with the traits to develop. And we all agree Milroe should be back in college for one more year. Okay. That's, that's my only point, I believe. Just like Arch Manning, no matter how well this season goes for, for Lenora Sellers, I absolutely love his skill set. I absolutely think he can be a star, and I think his upside is higher than all of these guys, all of them. I don't want him in the 2026 draft. Selfishly, I should.

[Mitch]

And you're such a goddamn politician. You didn't say whether or not I wanted this guy in. You asked me to rank these five.

[Steve]

You took the bait.

[Mitch]

Rank them.

[Steve]

Clubnik. Nussm Aller.

[Mitch]

Where'd you put Sellers? You took Sellers out of it.

[Steve]

Wild card. He's 2027.

[Mitch]

I, I, I would probably, I honestly don't even know you. You are a guy that has, you're, you are the Nation of Laws Club.

[Steve]

Nick Sellers. Nussm Aller. But I swear to you, as we sit here right now, second, I swear to you, while they're all differing quarterbacks to a certain degree, as is always the case, I mean, Ward was so different than Shador, who is so different than Dart, who was so different than, than Melro. Right. Those were the four. They're all like. But as we sit here today in the second week of June, looking ahead to next year's draft, 2026, next April, 316 days away. Okay. I think they all have the potential to be early draft picks, and I don't think at this point there's a huge gap between them. The reason I put Sellers with the wild card is because he's, he's the least ready, but he's the most talented.

[Mitch]

Yeah. To be clear, I agree with you. I think they should all go back as long as the, you know, the, the money's right and all that stuff. And they, like, I don't. You can't Tell someone to make a decision based on knowing half the information and I don't know what's going on with his family.

[Steve]

I don't think Club Nick should go back after this. I don't think Aller should go back after this.

[Mitch]

No matter what your blanket state statement.

[Steve]

No. If things go. If they, if they stay healthy the whole season and nothing like outrageous or crazy happens, if it's kind of like they had a good year or they didn't have the best year, I, I think, yeah, I think Club Nick's played a lot of ball and it's probably time. Going to be time to move on. We've seen the progression if he continues in that art. Same thing with, with Aller, certainly.

[Mitch]

Yeah. But I will say, selfishly, I want them all to come out at the same time. Selfishly, I want that. It's not the right thing.

[Steve]

Yeah. But here's the thing. If sellers goes in 2027 and arches in 2027 and we don't know about guys like Mendoza for 2020. You know what I mean?

[Mitch]

Like, yeah, yeah, you're right.

[Steve]

So. So now we've. We've already got n clubnick, Aller, Mendoza, we're going to get to Matier. We could have a Levit like, you know, and there's. And there's one lurking out there. I'm talking this class could be eight or nine deep in the first two rounds. Like, it could be. I'm not saying it will be.

[Mitch]

I'm.

[Steve]

This, this class is exciting.

[Mitch]

It is. I'm amped, man. Like, every time we throw in a guy, there's. There's no one in this process yet who's disqualified himself. Where we've thrown on the tape to either check to see whether we want to do a show on them or, wow, he's not as good as we thought we, you know, he was going to be. And I don't know what the buzz is about. We haven't had that conversation yet about one of these players.

[Steve]

Even Aller, I was worried because there were some things I've saw that were concerning. I just wasn't ready to be fully like. And I'm still not fully bought in. Like, I. I've read where it's like, he would have been the number two overall pick in this draft. And like, I'm not there yet, but. But I am after really after watching like 230 plus snaps, I'm like, he's better than maybe I thought. And I see it now. Can he. Can he make that next step? You know, agree this is awesome. But Mendoza like, all right, we'll be back next week on Monday. Matier our boy, our boy. Connor Nevins favorite quarterback keeps, you know, keeps him up late on Saturday nights. So I'm excited to see him. And then we'll we'll continue the series from there. I don't know if we're going to add another quarterback or start going to Clemson's defense or where we're going to go, but we'll keep you posted. We appreciate appreciate you watching and we'll see you Monday. Thanks. Must be 21 + and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18/ plus and present in D.C. gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit cc pg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MD gambling help.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit Gambling Helpline ma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 247 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York.

[Mitch]

SA.