BRISTOL, Conn. — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza won both the Maxwell Award and the Davey O'Brien Award on the eve of the Heisman Trophy announcement, making the redshirt junior the clear frontrunner for college football’s top honor.
Mendoza collected the Maxwell as the nation’s outstanding player and the O’Brien as the country’s top quarterback on ESPN’s college awards show Friday night. He had been named The Associated Press player of the year the previous day. The California transfer led Indiana to a 13-0 season, a Big Ten championship win over Ohio State and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, and he finished with an FBS-leading 33 touchdown passes, a program record.
“It’s a wonderful feeling. It really doesn’t feel real,” Mendoza said from New York after being named the O’Brien winner. He credited teammates, coaches and others who believed in and helped develop him.
Mendoza topped Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed in O’Brien voting. The Maxwell balloting saw Mendoza prevail over Sayin and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who set a school record with 21 rushing touchdowns and won the Doak Walker Award.
Mendoza becomes the seco
