When I first talked to Alberto Mendoza at last season’s national championship game, it was easy to recognize many of the qualities that helped make his older brother successful.
Fernando Mendoza was Indiana’s starting quarterback, the Heisman Trophy winner and eventually the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL draft. Alberto was his backup, but he displayed the same focus, preparation and competitive edge that defined his brother’s remarkable season.
Now Alberto is stepping out of Fernando’s shadow.
After transferring from Indiana, Mendoza won Georgia Tech’s starting quarterback job and will lead the Yellow Jackets against Colorado tonight at Bobby Dodd Stadium. He inherits the position previously occupied by Haynes King but does not view the offense as belonging to him alone.
“I wouldn’t say it’s my team,” Mendoza said. “I would say it’s everybody’s team. Everyone has put in so many hours of preparation, so much effort, so many tears and sweat. I think putting it as just my team isn’t right...It’s not whoever’s Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets,” Mendoza said. “We are the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, all of us.”
Mendoza prepares for an unfamiliar Colorado defense
Colorado presents an unusual opening-week challenge. The Buffaloes have a new defensive coordinator and numerous transfers, leaving Georgia Tech without a complete body of film showing exactly how the group will operate together.
Mendoza acknowledged that preparing for Colorado has been different from studying an opponent during the middle of a season.
“It’s not like you’re preparing for a team midyear and you have their whole scheme, you have the players and you’re watching their players,” Mendoza said. “They have 11 transfers, a new defensive coordinator and all that.”
Rather than attempting to anticipate every possible adjustment Colorado could make, Mendoza said Georgia Tech’s priority must be executing its own offense.
“We just have to go out there and be ourselves, be the best version of our offense that we can be and let all the preparation we put in take over,” Mendoza said.
That preparation has included establishing chemistry with an offense featuring several new players. Albereto repeatedly emphasized communication when discussing how he has taken command of the unit.
“Communication is key, especially in a new offense when there are so many new moving parts,” Mendoza said. “Having an open line of communication with all the other players on the offense really helps me take command and helps the whole offense take command when we’re on the field.”
He believes that work has produced confidence entering the opener.
“We’ve developed a connection that has made us all really confident going into this game against Colorado,” Mendoza said.
Colorado will test Mendoza’s response to adversity
Mendoza will be making the transition from championship-winning backup to the quarterback responsible for leading his own offense. Colorado’s defense will try to make that transition uncomfortable by creating pressure and forcing him to respond when plays go wrong.
“No matter what the last play was, whether it was a touchdown, a negative play or whatever it may be, we have another opportunity,” Mendoza said. “Why think about the last play when we have a brand-new play, a brand-new day, a brand-new minute or second ahead of us? Let’s take advantage of that.”
Alberto is focused, prepared and intensely competitive. Those attributes should sound familiar to anyone who watched his brother lead Indiana to a nation al championship.
Tonight marks Alberto’s opportunity to begin creating an identity of his own.
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