Alberto Mendoza Leaves Indiana For Georgia Tech
Alberto Mendoza watched his older brother Fernando win the Heisman Trophy, go 16-0 and lead Indiana to the national championship, all while standing on the sideline as the backup, completing 18 of 24 passes in mop-up duty across nine games. He was good enough to be on that roster.
He was not going to be Indiana's starter. He knew it and he made a decision: get out of his brother's shadow and find a place he could actually play.
He transferred to Georgia Tech in January, hours after Fernando was named the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
The younger Mendoza had the connection, his former Indiana offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri is the older brother of Georgia Tech safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri.
The Yellow Jackets had lost starter Haynes King to graduation and quarterback Aaron Philo to the transfer portal. There was a job open. Alberto has won it.
Georgia Tech opens its 2026 season Saturday September 5 against Colorado at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. Alberto Mendoza, three-star recruit, national champion backup, Fernando's little brother, will start at quarterback. He has three years of eligibility remaining and zero career starts. Saturday is the first one.
"He gets out of the shadow of being just the other Mendoza," one analyst wrote. That is the whole story.
