Former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza said he won’t be joining his former teammates for its White House visit on May 11.
“I believe May 11 is the first day of OTAs,” Mendoza, selected No. 1 in the NFL Draft, said to media Saturday. “I don’t have the calendar. If it is on the first day of OTAs, I’m at the bottom of the totem poll, I’ve got to prove myself. I can’t miss practice. As a rookie I don’t think that’s a good look and I want to best serve my teammates. I don’t know if I’d be accomplishing that goal.”
Mendoza, of course, led the Hoosiers to a 16-0 season that concluded with a 27-21 win over Miami in the CFP national title game at Hard Rock Stadium. That team will celebrate their championship at the White House in Washington D.C., a long-standing tradition for national champions.
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Last year, Ohio State’s visit to the White House featured a formal ceremony on the White House South Lawn where the Buckeyes’ captains presented President Donald J. Trump with a helmet signed by the members of the 2024 team and a No. 47 jersey.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza won’t be going to White House
Reporting by Nat Newell and Michael Niziolek, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
