Raiderstation

Jeevo wrote: Thu Apr 23, 2026 9:23 pm I’m 100% sold on the Mendoza family. Again, I know it’s hokey, but I don’t care.

Jeevo wrote: Thu Apr 23, 2026 9:23 pm I’m 100% sold on the Mendoza family. Again, I know it’s hokey, but I don’t care.

Willmark wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2026 5:54 am Character matters.

One of my favorite players of all time is Barry Sanders not for his phenomenal ability but what he did after he scored. Never showboating, never “feed me” or anything else. Just toss the ball to the ref.

Fernando? By all accounts he is as genuine as they come. Humble and what’s putting others first. Realizing that if he helps others succeed they will in turn help light him.

Everything about him is sincserce and I think it says a lot about us as a society when we say “this can’t be real.”

But it is.

He’s hungry for success and the Raiders and us as fan are starved for it.

Attyla wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2026 7:00 am Here's the thing. In August, almost nobody knew his name. He was a guy who had not had much success at Cal so unless you were a Cal fan or a guy who watched his conference rivals, you knew almost nothing about the guy. Georgia ignored his request to transfer there, so he ends up at the smaller school Indiana. And unless you watched Indiana football you had no idea he had even transferred there.

Once the season starts, he is on nobody's radar. Indiana is a run first offense and while they are winning games, they did not play anyone until October 11th (lot of tune up games and such) so nobody was paying attention. That Oregon game was literally the first time I watched the guy with any real interest in his game. And the guy was goofy as hell.

But that game starts a string of wins against high profile teams. Michigan St, while not great last year, is still a big time programs. UCLA, again not great, but a big time traditional program. But he is not just wining these games, he is crushing them. The defining game of his regular season was Penn St. And while Penn St was taking a step back, that is still a huge win for him. He finishes the season vs 2 also rans and then beats a big time number one in Ohio St.

And the whole time, he is acting like a total pro. By November first, he is on my radar and I am devouring everything I can get on him. He enters the Heisman discussion. This is when I started seeing the fit. His work ethic, his family unity, his humility are all on display. By November 15th I am openly discussing his climb on the forum. And at the beginning of the season, he would not have gotten a combine invite and here he is on the big stage.

Flash forward, and last night we struck gold. Because if he does not do what he does, the first overall pick is the biggest boobie prize in recent draft history because nobody else is worth that pick and you are not trading down, or if you do you get almost no real trade value for the pick. We saw some history last night. We saw a man of determination put together one of the true feel good stories in college history.

GoodTimeCharlie wrote: Sat Aug 16, 2025 6:49 pm Yeah, I’ve started watchin’ a small amount of tape. It’s my Raider tradition, to dream of a Superstar QB.

So far, and this is paper-thin surface study, I’m liking the idea of Klubnik/Sellers 1st Rnd, Allar early 2nd or late 1st (if we trade back), and Leavitt/Mendoza later.

GoodTimeCharlie wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2026 7:48 am My first mention of him on August 16th…

Though if there were any roses or silver dollars awarded me for my keen insight. I think it’s probably not too well deserved. Look how that hierarchy changed.

Attyla wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2026 7:52 am You were the exception and probably because you watch some Cal games or followed a rival. But you did mention him. His climb from combine snub to first overall pick in one season caught most everyone by surprise.

chucker wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2026 8:14 am Nate Tice had Mendoza as his #1 QB a year ago. It was just Charlie and Nate going against the flow back then.

Attyla wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2026 8:21 am Always love the exceptions. But Charlie is a genius and Nate is a lucky f[raiders_icon]cking hack

Willmark wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2026 5:54 am Character matters.

One of my favorite players of all time is Barry Sanders not for his phenomenal ability but what he did after he scored. Never showboating, never “feed me” or anything else. Just toss the ball to the ref.

Fernando? By all accounts he is as genuine as they come. Humble and putting others first. Realizing that if he helps others succeed they will in turn help him.

Everything about him is sincere and I think it says a lot about us as a society when we say “this can’t be real.”

But it is.

He’s hungry for success and the Raiders and us as fan are starved for it.