#heisman

Here the message Joe and other did who won the Heisman!!

you should do a little something where he's secretly dating ryan day or one of his coaches daughters 🤭🤭

Distraction

summary: Julian sayin is the greatest quarterback in the college football nation. he’s 20 years old, his focus is on holding up an entire state on his shoulders. ohio against the world. he didn’t have time for distractions

until y/n day came to practice

notes: O-H! as a die hard bucks fan this is going to be so fun

Note2: I wrote this on my iPad so bare with me, I feel so sad for my baby after the heisman ugh

Also to all who requested him being comforted after the loss, I attempted to kill two birds with one stone here

there’s a lot on your shoulders as a 20 year old quarterback for the top college football team in the nation. not much room to be a young adult when you have so much riding on your shoulders. it was his dream, all julian sayin ever wanted was to make it big. he has the talent, the level head, the determination. he was going to do anything he could to make it to the big leagues. as a sophomore in college he was making it, he was right there on the line, no room to look behind him, nothing to hold him back.

until he met a girl. a girl who was off limits, for so many reasons. he was focused, she was focused. he was THE julian sayin, he couldn’t let a girl get in his way. on an even worse note, she was THE y/n day. the daughter of his coach. there were so many factors of why he couldn’t have her. but he wanted her so bad. he remembers the day he met her, none of those reasons he couldn’t have her mattered.

a loud college party, a big buckeyes win, week won of julian’s sophmore season. his first win as the buckeyes starter against the number 1 team, and arch manning. it was huge. the whole team was amped, they held a huge party. everyone was there, it was the beginning of the year, a big coming home party. julian sat with his football friends, laughing over the loud music. they were electric, picking guys up, keg stands, yelling, tossing random items like footballs. julian loved the action, it was exciting for him to say the least, watching his friends in there element.

not much could stop the moment, the noise, the fire. until she walked in the door. she floated, it was magical. his eyes followed her through the room and he didn’t even know her name. he felt drawn to her, the noise was muffled while his eyes glued to the girl. he watched as she connects with a group of girls, he hears some giggles and screeches, he hears her laugh. it’s a symphony to his ears. he watched her all night, he couldn’t help it. his focus was drawn to her, she was so distracting.

he waited till he saw an opening, a window where he could put the ball. that’s just what he did, he slipped behind his friends and made his way across the room, eyes never leaving her. she sat on the corner of a couch, watching the party around her. she was majestic. she took a breath, turning her head to look around the party. her eyes locked with his, there was his opening. she smiled at him when she realized he was moving towards her, he leaned against a table beside the couch and smiled. “I’m julian,” he states simply, putting his hand out to shake hers.

she chuckled, “i know” she said, taking his hand for a shake. “a hand shake is a weird way to say hi to a girl” he smiled at her response, bending down lightly to hear her. she was attempting to shout over the music “im y/n!” she says. eyes bright. touch down.his heart skipped a beat “like y/n day?” his coach. “yeah, is that a problem?” she asked, smirk on her face. yes. that was a huge problem, a huge distraction. he held his breath for a minute, looked her up and down, and let his breath out “not at all”

julian would always remember that night, it sparked something beautiful. he loved it. sneaked messages to her before practice, sneaking kisses in pockets of the shoe they wouldn’t be found. it was fun, the sneaking around. y/n loved it too. though she wanted nothing more than to take him home to her family. she thinks back to nights he would come to her apartment and hold her close to his chest, where they’d whisper and giggle about everything. in love is what it was, what it became to be.

she hated not being able to represent him at games, or hold his hand down the street. especially with the holidays coming up, all she wanted was julian by her side day in and day out. but her dad, her dad was the problem. y/n knew the focus was julian’s game, her dads coaching. It didn’t matter what side, her boyfriends or her dads, the focus was football. It hurt sometimes, during important moments, hard times when school was looming over her head, she couldn’t and wouldn’t get in the way of football. All she could do was be there, show up, and support. Every Saturday she wore her Scarlett and gray as support for her dad, and every Saturday night she handed Julian his congratulation dessert she spent all Friday night baking. It was a routine, a whole year of winning games, celebrating, sneaking around. Y/n thought it got kind of lonely sometimes, not being able to shout her love from the roof tops.

The most important game of the season was coming up, the most important game emotionally that is. The rivalry against the team up north meant differently in the day household. Coach day had only beat Michigan once in his six years, it was a matter of beating his kryptonite. It was snowing, colder than ice in the big house, our California quarterback had one job, stay cool. In his own head he was spiraling. He was scared, he has an entire states ego resting on his shoulders, which sounds stupid but this game was important to the people of Ohio, it’s never been more serious than today. It felt weird to him, searching around this stadium he knew nothing about, at a rivalry school, just to see his girlfriend before the biggest game of his college career. He walked with such a speed through the bottom level of this stadium seeping with urgency to see his girlfriend before this game. He lets out a gasp when he gets tugged aggressively into a small corner of the stadium. He stumbles into the culprit but melts when he hears the giggle of just the person he was on the move to see.

“Y/n,” he breaths out, pulling her into a hug. She can feel his muscles tense. She understands almost immediately that he is nervous. The weight of the state was heavy on his shoulders. “Julian” she smiled, kissing his lips gently. “I tried a new dessert for your victory dessert tonight, I think you’re gonna like it” he smiles, studying her face quickly. She visually watches his shoulders relax at the mention of there tradition. He kisses her head “I’m kind of nervous” he admits, not letting go of her even for a second. “I noticed, but hey,” her hand moves to his cheek with a soft smile. He knows just by looking into her eyes that everything would be okay, but he wanted to hear her say it, to hear her tell him she believed in him. “I’ve seen many quarterbacks play for my dad. And not a one of them are as level headed and game smart as you. That’s the kind of person you have to be to beat a rivalry team. How lucky are we that we have just the man at the head of our team.” The words hit him better than even the look in her eyes. He pulled her into a hug tight for the hug, he shoved his head into her shoulder and let out a long deep breath. The alarm on his watch set off, causing his shoulders to tense up all over again. Y/n stepped back and held both his hands, “I love you more than words can describe” he nodded, a smile painting across his face. “Do me proud quarterback” he kisses her lips with urgency, pulling away as he backed out of the corner “I’ll be looking for you” he blew her a kiss and disappeared off into the halls.

Pride filled her heart as she walked to her seat in the stands with her. They greeted her with plenty of excitement, knowing her secret. She laughed, huddling with them to stay warm. “How’s he doing?” One of her friends asked, concern in their faces for their starting quarterback “he’s going to do great” y/n promised, looking out onto the field. They sat front row on the visitors side, surrounded by others in Scarlett and gray. She was right, that’s exactly what he was. Great. It was the most fun to watch as the girl behind the quarterback. He never said it, but everytime he looked in the crowd, or pointed, she knew it was right to her. Every good throw, every touchdown, every winning play, it was all for her.

The night after that game was electric. They partied with friends, celebrated the breaking of a five year long curse, and sure the party was fun, but the after of the party, belonged to Julian and y/n. She layed on his chest drawing hearts against his skin as he played with her hair. He felt like a winner, with the most special girl on his chest. He loved her, his little part of the world that no one could touch. But he couldn’t help but want to see her in his number, see her cheering him on as his. He pictured the perfect off season, growing, relaxing, preparing. All with his girl by his side and he wanted people to know that. The end of the season approaching meant maybe, just maybe they could achieve that.

“Sneaking around is getting exhausting Julian” y/n sighed, looking up at him with sleepy tired eyes. He knew that, he knew how tired he was of finding all the dark places just to tell his girl he loved her. He was tired of sneaking into her dorm and leaving in the quiet of the night. He was especially tired of looking his coach in the eye everyday knowing he was sneaking around with his daughter. Not being able to tell him he wanted to marry his daughter. He also knew the severity of it, how it could throw off their whole coach quarterback relationship, how it could ruin the chances of another national championship. “I know beautiful,” he whispers, kissing her head. “I want nothing more than to be able to show everyone just how lucky I am to have you. But we have to play it safe, just until after the playoffs” y/n nodded. She knew it was what she had to do, but it didn’t make it any less heavy on her shoulders. “Just a few more weeks” she reassured herself. It angered her that she knew her father would over react, and she hated not being able to tell him. She felt awful for keeping this huge secret from him for so long. He was her dad, she wanted him to know. She wanted him to approve, to be proud of her. She knew he’d have rules, he’d have a lecture, she knew he’d have it out for Julian until he knows his intentions. She couldn’t let them butt heads right when they need to be connecting.

The moment between the couple, on the night just for them, was interrupted abruptly as both their phones lit up with a million notifications. Groans escaped the both of them. Julian grabbed the phones and handed y/n hers. Instagram flooded with messages from their personal friends, all of the same articles. “Ohio state quarterback Julian sayin spotted at the big house with coach Ryan days daughter y/n day” this was bad, really really bad. They knew the risks, they chose to sneak around anyway. Y/n sat up, sucking in her breath. Julian sits up with her, wrapping his arm around her lower back. “It’s all going to turn out just fine, no matter what coaches reaction is it’s up to me to make sure our play off outcome is the same as last year” she loved when he talked logical, optimistic, but she knew her dad would freak.

One in the morning on a Saturday night when all this chaos hit the fan, coach day called y/ns phone. “Dad, hi” she said quickly, whole letting all the air out of her chest. He didn’t sound thrilled, but that was obvious, she was just glad he didn’t start yelling. “Do you have something you need to tell me. He sounded calm, collected, if she listened close enough, he sounded hurt. “I’m sorry dad, I didn’t want to get in the way of the starts, taking Julian’s hand and glancing into his eyes. “For either of you,” coach sighs. “I’ve always taught you to be honest with people, to speak everything that is on your mind” he was stern, she listened when he spoke. “But I trust you had good intentions and a good enough reason to keep this from me” a tension lifts from her shoulders as she listens. “I did, we both did” Julian smiled at her with a proud look on his face. “I’m really not happy about this, because by the look of that picture this isn’t a new occurrence”

“After week one, we met formally at a party and it just kept going from there. I wanted to wait till after the season to tell you so it wouldn’t mess up the connection between the two of you. I know you dad, never will you approve of my relationship with one of your boys” he chuckles “because I know them! I know how I hear them talk about women, I know how I see them act in the locker room” he fought, and then paused. “But never Julian” he admitted. Y/n smiled, she knew he didn’t approve, but this was a step in the right direction

With the big ten championship coming up, it’s on to just the next win. Having a positive forward attitude was importer when leading a team. When leading a team whose coach you just pissed off to an aggressive level, that was a little different. He didn’t want to walk on egg shells, he he was relieved that he could call her his to the world now. But it didn’t change the fact that the flow of the plays were off, coach was off. He was stunting Julian’s potential, shutting him out. Julian could feel it but he couldn’t change it. When the Indiana game came upon him, he couldn’t let coach up. He did everything he could, he showed up to family dinner with flowers for u/n and her mom, he did the dishes, he treated y/n just how he did in private but could do it everywhere now. Coach wasn’t defrosting from his cold heart, his anger at them both from keeping this big important secret from him.

They couldn’t connect all night, only one touch down hit the end zone. It was a shit show, they couldn’t find a grove. As the game went on, Julian let it get to his head. No matter how many times he looked at y/n in the stands, wearing his number, screaming his name, but everytime he saw her he saw all the mistakes he was making in the eyes of her dad. He couldn’t help but feeling like he was letting her down, letting the whole state down. It was one game, and they’d still make the playoffs, but with this loss he basically sold himself the heisman and proved the fear that all this stuff with y/n was a bad idea. He’d never go back on that, he would always stand by her. But now, he had blew it all because he wasn’t careful. He could never blame that loss on his mistake to Ryan day, only his mistakes he made because he didnt keep his cool.

After the game Julian sat in the locker room with a towel on his head, he stared at the floor contemplating everything he’s worked for this season. A hand rested on his shoulder, and the weight of the bench shifted as more weight applied next to him. “Just one game saying, the playoffs are next, you can be upset but don’t let it tear you down, don’t beat yourself up over little things” coach day sat next to him as he lifted his head up. “You make my daughter happy, I can tell. I’m just a dad looking out for girl, don’t let my stubbornness push us into a zither loss” he let out a small laugh, Julian smiled. “Just keep her safe and treat her with kindness and we’re not going to have any problems” he patted him on the back and stood “thanks coach, I plan on it” with that they both left the locker room a little less tense then when they entered it

They asked him during his Super Bowl media tour and he said he voted for Travis Hunter

I also remember him saying he voted for Jayden but I can’t remember when

"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."— Galatians 6:9

There's something about Fernando Mendoza's story that moves me. Maybe it's that perpetual smile he carries through adversity, or the way he always gives God the glory regardless of circumstances. But what really captures me is how you can see Christ living through him—in the genuine strength and grace that radiates from who he is.

His story matters. Here's why.

At 17 years old, Fernando lay in his bedroom in Miami, sobbing. He was ranked No. 2,149 overall and No. 140 among QBs in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports Composite—a two-star prospect that recruiting services considered fringe FBS talent. That summer, driven by desperation and determination, he and his father loaded up the car and drove across the country to 18 different football camps in 25 days. Fernando approached every coach who would spare five minutes. His high school coach, Dave Dunn at Christopher Columbus High, sent highlight packages to every Power Five program in America. Not a single scholarship offer materialized. Out of over 130 FBS schools, zero expressed interest.

The Miami Hurricanes—20 minutes from his house in Westchester, the team he'd grown up idolizing while wearing green-and-orange face paint in the stands—wouldn't even offer him a walk-on spot. Florida International declined. Florida Atlantic passed. Yale offered admission but no athletic scholarship and no viable path to the NFL. Everyone delivered the same message: "Just be grateful for Yale. That's what two-star quarterbacks get. That's your ceiling."

Fernando, who idolized Tom Brady and his improbable rise from the 199th pick, looked at that ceiling and refused to accept it.

Then in January 2022, two weeks before National Signing Day, his phone rang. Cal had lost a quarterback commitment and desperately needed someone. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave had heard about Fernando from renowned quarterbacks coach David Lee in South Florida. Fernando flew to Berkeley for a workout. They offered him the scholarship on the spot. Out of 134 FBS schools in the country, Cal was his singular Power Five offer. He committed immediately and signed two days later.

His freshman year at Cal, he redshirted. In 2023, injuries thrust him into the starting role midseason. He lost his first four starts, all against ranked opponents. His offensive line surrendered 41 sacks over two seasons. Critics said Cal had made a recruiting mistake. But Fernando threw for 4,712 yards over two seasons, posted a school-record 66.4% completion percentage, tied Cal legends Gale Gilbert and Aaron Rodgers with 10 career 250-yard passing games, and maintained academic honor roll status. In just three years, he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Berkeley's prestigious Haas School of Business—paying for his final classes out of pocket.

When Cal brought in transfer quarterbacks for 2024 and wouldn't guarantee him the starting job, Fernando entered the portal. He chose Indiana—a program carrying the most losses in college football history (715), with only three bowl wins and zero double-digit win seasons since 1887. The decision baffled analysts. But his younger brother Alberto was already the backup quarterback for the Hoosiers, having followed head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison. And Cignetti promised Fernando something that resonated: "I'm going to turn you into the best Fernando Mendoza possible."

But here's what sustained him through everything. Here's his "why."

His mother, Elsa, has been battling multiple sclerosis for 18 years. When Fernando and Alberto were young, she concealed the diagnosis because she didn't want them to worry. Now she's quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair, unable to hold her head up without support. She can barely travel to watch him play. Fernando says simply, "My mother is my why. The way she fights with optimism is incredible. She's my role model."

Then something miraculous happened at Indiana. They went 16-0. They defeated six top-10 teams. They captured their first Big Ten championship since 1967. Fernando threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns—leading the entire nation. He posted a 181.39 passer rating and completed 71.5% of his passes. He won the Heisman Trophy in a landslide, receiving 84.66% of total possible points (seventh-highest in Heisman history) and appearing on 95.16% of all ballots (tied for second-highest ever). First Indiana player to ever win it. Third Latino in history. First Cuban-American ever.

In his Heisman acceptance speech at the Marriott Marquis in New York, he spoke Spanish to honor his parents and all four grandparents who fled Cuba after Castro's 1959 revolution: "Por el amor y sacrificio de mis padres y abuelos, los quiero mucho. De todo mi corazón, les doy las gracias." (For the love and sacrifice of my parents and grandparents, I love you very much. From all my heart, I give you thanks.)

The College Football Playoff National Championship was played in Miami Gardens—40 minutes from where Fernando grew up. Indiana faced Miami. Late in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-4 from the Miami 12-yard line, with Indiana clinging to a three-point lead, Cignetti called a gutsy quarterback draw. Fernando took the snap, got hit hard at the line of scrimmage, spun away from two defenders, and dove across the goal line for the 12-yard touchdown that sealed it. Final score: Indiana 27, Miami 21.

The same Miami Hurricanes who wouldn't even offer him a walk-on spot? He just defeated them for the national championship on their home field. A perfect 16-0 season—the first undefeated campaign in major college football since Yale in 1894. After the game, with tears streaming down his face, Fernando said, "I was denied a walk-on offer to Miami. Full circle moment."

You see Christ living in Fernando. That smile that never quits. The peace in his countenance even when everything's falling apart. Always giving God the glory.

***

I broke down in tears when the cameras showed Fernando's mother Elsa at that championship game. She looked exactly like my mother—so fragile in her wheelchair, her head leaning back because she didn't have the strength to lift it anymore. My mom died from multiple sclerosis in 2004. Like Elsa, she was quadriplegic the last few years. We discovered her diagnosis when I was in college, and MS gradually took her from us through the 1980s and 1990s. It attacks the brain and spinal cord, progressively stealing everything—the ability to walk, to feed yourself, to hold your own head up. It was traumatic for her and for everyone who loved her.

But like Elsa, my mom never lost her spirit. You could see the faith in her eyes even when her body completely failed her. That quiet joy didn't originate from positive thinking or manufactured strength—it came directly from Jesus. I understand completely why Fernando calls his mother his "why." When you watch someone you love wage that kind of battle every single day, when you witness them refuse to surrender even as their own body betrays them, it gives you a purpose that nothing else in this world can provide.

Fernando's story reminds us that God can transform rejection into redirection and pain into purpose. What dream have you abandoned because other people said no? What calling feels impossible right now? Jesus doesn't promise to shield us from difficult times—He promises to walk beside us through them. Fernando's greatest victories began in that bedroom where a 17-year-old kid wept because nobody wanted him.

His story is inspiring.

"I want every kid out there who feels overlooked and underestimated to know, I was you," Mendoza said in his Heisman speech. "You don't need the most stars, hype, or rankings. You just need discipline, heart, and people who believe in you."

The people who say "no" don't get to write your ending. Stop waiting for permission. Live with Fernando's faith. Bet on yourself when no one else will. Outwork the doubt. Keep showing up until they can't ignore you anymore. And never let anyone tell you where you start is where you finish.

Don't quit.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, We lift up to You today every person carrying the weight of a disease that refuses to relent—those who wake to pain, to exhaustion, to bodies that won't cooperate anymore, and still find the strength to face another day. Wrap them in Your presence. Meet them in those quiet hours when nobody else witnesses how hard they're fighting.

We pray for Elsa, and we pray for all the Elsas throughout the world—the mothers and fathers and sons and daughters enduring battles that test not only their bodies but their faith. Surround them with people who bring hope when hope feels impossible. Restore what disease keeps attempting to steal. Remind them that no diagnosis, regardless of how devastating, can ever silence the soul You created.

For the families walking beside them, grant them endurance wrapped in tenderness. Help them understand that love itself is worship—that every act of care, every moment of patience, every sacrifice honors You.

And for all of us facing rejection, weakness, setbacks, or delays—teach us to keep fighting with grace. Help us rise after every hit. May we carry our "why" the way Fernando carries his—anchored in love, fueled by purpose, guided by faith, and sustained by You.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

"Football is what I do, but Jesus Christ is who I follow." - Fernando Mendoza