Get to Know Fernando Mendoza’s Family

Get to Know Fernando Mendoza’s FamilyAlex Slitz - Getty Images

At the NFL Draft tonight, projected no. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza will be watching from his home in Miami, Florida with his family. “We’re going to have to hop on a plane the next morning anyways,” the quarterback said. “And for that travel, it would be a lot easier to stay at home.”

The 22-year-old is close with his parents and younger brothers. “I’m so proud to be able to play for them. They’re my ‘why,’” he told The Herald-Times of his family. Here, get to know Fernando Mendoza’s family:

His mom, Elsa Mendoza

Elsa Mendoza kisses her son Fernando Mendoza #15.cfp - Getty Images

Elsa was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007. “Your accomplishments will NEVER impact how proud of you I am,” Elsa wrote in a tribute to her son in December. “Because you are already everything I could have hoped for as a mother.... and that has nothing to do with the miles you throw or the touchdowns you score. It has everything to do with the man you’ve grown into.”

Fernando credits his mother, who was a college tennis player at the University of Miami, for his career. “You’ve always been my biggest fan,” Fernando told his mom when he won the Heisman Trophy. “You’re my life. You’re my why. You’ve always been my biggest supporter. Your sacrifices, courage, love, my first playbook, my playbook I’m going to carry through my side my entire life.”