Hallie Grossman Apr 20, 2026, 08:40 AM ET

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Staff Writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine

Joined ESPN The Magazine after graduating from Penn State University.

Covers college football and college basketball.

THE VERDICT IS all but in, the coronation all but official.

Fernando Mendoza 's presence here, in Indianapolis at the combine, is formality over function. It's late February, two months to go until the 2026 NFL draft, but he has already done the fairytale, done the unthinkable, done the proving. There's no throw he can make this week that could outdazzle the missile he launched to beat Penn State last fall, with a pair of defenders closing in and the clock ticking down.…