Fernando Mendoza

No. 15

His old coach went on national TV just to say Mendoza was built for this

Coaches don't usually go out of their way to vouch for a player once he's already gone. Curt Cignetti did.

Mendoza's former head coach at Indiana showed up on The Rich Eisen Show this week and made it plain: this is someone who came into every room committed to being great. Not talented. Not promising. Committed. There's a difference, and Cignetti wanted people to know which one Mendoza was.

The Raiders quarterback is now in the conversation for Offensive Rookie of the Year — the award given to the top first-year offensive player in the league. That kind of recognition, in a rookie season, from a franchise still searching for its footing.

What Cignetti said wasn't breaking news. It was something closer to a character witness going on the record. And the thing about character witnesses is they usually only show up when there's something worth defending — or, in this case, something worth celebrating.

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