\n<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year of my career, I\u2019ve gotten exponentially better,\u201d he says. \u201cFreshman year to sophomore year, a ton better. That was a whole thing. Sophomore year, junior year: \u2018Wow, you got so much better.\u2019 And junior year to now, obviously, it\u2019s like, boom.<\/em>\u201d Mendoza finished UC Berkeley\u2019s Haas School of Business<\/a> in just three years, before relocating as a graduate transfer to the Hoosiers. And the \u201cexponential\u201d growth he recaps isn\u2019t overkill; he entered university as a midrange two-star recruit<\/a> (Cal called after losing its already-pledged quarterback), and by the midway point of his fourth year, he\u2019d won the Heisman Trophy<\/a>, which is the sport\u2019s highest collegiate accolade.<\/p>\n Even his taste in music seems to uphold a sort of sovereign actualization: Mendoza says his most played song during his uni years was \u201cErase Your Social\u201d by the rapper Lil Uzi Vert. To focus on the championship, Mendoza did what the track suggested, leaving only LinkedIn and YouTube on his phone<\/a>. In a sweet twist of fate, Uzi was at the game to watch him win it.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter that, I was a little bit of an Instagram zombie for a couple of days because of all the dopamine,\u201d Mendoza says, admitting to re-downloading the app. \u201cNow, I delete it again. Every once in a while, I\u2019ll check on my browser to see if I\u2019m missing anything\u2026or when my little brother posts, I\u2019ll get on and comment something.\u201d<\/p>\n Mendoza is a layered and resolute athlete; he\u2019s cultivated in Stoicism, thoughtful, and self-trained in a Tom Bradyan method of regimented study, sleep, diet, training, and commitment. (Brady was Mendoza\u2019s idol growing up; coincidentally, the now retired QB holds a 5% ownership stake in the Raiders<\/a>.) On the field, Mendoza\u2019s high IQ play results in precision pocket passes and an even-keeled nature during critical moments.<\/p>\n Yet away from the lights, he\u2019s also seemingly equally methodical about what his life might look like in conference rooms and C-Suites (as of going to press, Mendoza, tongue-in-cheekily, still had a #OpenToWork badge<\/a> on his LinkedIn profile). He navigated a number of NIL deals while at Indiana (reportedly worth millions<\/a>), the highest-profile of which was with Adidas. Plenty more brands have come forward with sponsorship proposals, but it\u2019s his boardroom work ethic that ultimately led him to a partnership with Boss, announced exclusively here today, on account of the label\u2019s strong reputation in modern tailoring and officewear.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, I want to build my business acumen,\u201d says Mendoza. \u201cSo that\u2019s why I agreed to it, because it\u2019s a great brand, with the suiting they have.\u201d He continues: \u201cI\u2019m usually in athleisure, but I do have this professional side to me. You want this contrast where you can be in different rooms and not stand out, but fit in<\/em>\u2014and then excel. A big part of that [on the professional side] is having a good suit.\u201d<\/p>\n Mendoza\u2019s game has been widely dissected already, but less has been revealed about his non-sporting life and personality; the interviews he\u2019s given have been manicured and warm, but not exactly revelatory. They haven\u2019t been off the clock. I was a little surprised\u2014in a good way\u2014to find him so casually dispositioned on our call, taking the Zoom from his parents\u2019 bedroom \u201cbecause it\u2019s the only one with a real desk.\u201d Mendoza says that while he\u2019s calm and collected in most facets of life, he gets \u201cvery emotional\u201d over his family\u2013father Fernando, mother Elsa, and brothers Alberto and Max. He gives me a quick tour to prove that his room, which he shares with Alberto, does not in fact have a great setup for virtual interviews (\u201cThere\u2019s the Heisman, pretty cool,\u201d he says while en route, flipping the camera to the trophy, which is ensconced in a built-in.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n