Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza declined to attend the 2026 NFL Draft in person for a very personal reason.
“My mom really wanted to do it at home and so did my parents,” Mendoza said Monday, April 20, on ESPN’s The Rich Eisen Show. “It’s a lot easier for us, especially with the family situation.”
Mendoza’s mother, Elsa, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007 and currently uses a wheelchair.
“We’d have to hop on a plane the next morning anyway,” Mendoza continued. “For that travel, it would be a lot easier to stay at home. I wanted to stay and make the memory with everybody who...
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