Why Fernando Mendoza might skip out on Indiana's White House visit

When the Indiana Hoosiers visit US President Donald Trump at the White House to celebrate their College Football Playoff National Championship win on May 11, star quarterback Fernando Mendoza might not be in attendance. But he's got a pretty good reason for missing the event.

Mendoza, who helped lead the Hoosiers to their first-ever national championship with the win, was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders last month as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. And it turns out that his new job might already have him booked on the day the Hoosiers are scheduled to meet with Trump.

"I believe May 11 is the first day of OTAs, if I'm not mistaken," Mendoza said. "If it is on the first day of OTAs, like I said, I'm on the bottom of the totem pole here. I've got to prove myself. I can't miss practice."

"I don't know anything official, I don't have a calendar. But I wouldn't – as a rookie, I don't think that'd a good look. And I want to best serve my teammates, and I don't know if that'd be accomplishing that goal."

It will be disappointing for Indiana not to have a key component of its first national championship team along for the celebration at the White House. Still, Mendoza's willingness to miss such a big event to attend workouts in May shows that he has a work ethic that will serve him well in the NFL.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Why Fernando Mendoza might skip out on Indiana's White House visit