ACC Media Day: Fernando Mendoza & Chandler Rogers Embrace QB Duel

Mendoza talks up Cal academics, his specialty burrito and competing on and off the field in Berkeley

Fernando Mendoza at ACC media day / Courtesy of ACC

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza was an enthusiastic ambassador for Cal at the Bears’ inaugural visit to Atlantic Coast Conference football media day at Charlotte, NC, on Tuesday.

The redshirt sophomore touted Berkeley’s academics, singling out the business law class he took from professor Alan Ross at the Haas School of Business. He encouraged visiting ACC fans to check out La Burrita to sample his Mendoza Burrito, which benefits the National MS Society.

He warned those same fans about Tightwad Hill above Memorial Stadium, suggesting, “One wrong step . . .”

But he also said the Bears are excited to join the ACC and he is embracing the ongoing competition he will face in fall camp from North Texas transfer Chandler Rogers.

“At Cal, you’re going to compete,” said Mendoza, who took over as the Bears starter at midseason last year and emerged from spring as the penciled-in No. 1. “That’s something I think we’re going to excel at and show we can be competitive at the ACC level. There’s no entitlement here at Cal. We have a great locker room culture. We’re always ready to compete.”

Rogers, who arrived on campus in time for spring ball after throwing for 3,382 yards and 29 touchdowns a year ago at North Texas, said he chose Cal because coach Justin Wilcox made him no false promises.

“Going through the recruitment process, a lot of coaches lie,” Rogers said. “Talking with coach Wilcox, he was very honest. Same with coach (Mike) Bloesch, he was very honest. 

“Unlike others just promising the job. A lot of people would lie and coach Wilcox didn’t lie. That was really the biggest thing: honesty.”

Wilcox and Bloesch, who has added the offensive coordinator title to his duties as O-line coach, expect both players to continue battling into fall camp.

“We both want to win. We both want to be the guy but at the end of the day it’s going to be what’s best for the team,” Rogers said.

Mendoza said players face competition on the field and in the classroom.

“That’s something you always hear Jaylen Brown talk about — you need to go to class,” he said, referring to the one-and-done Cal basketball player and NBA champion with the Boston Celtics. “There’s no free pass for athletes. That’s something I really value. There’s nobody above another. 

“There’s kids in my class who have given Ted Talks. There’s no advantage to them or myself or anybody else with a special circumstance.”

Wilcox said there is no timetable for when he plans to name a starting quarterback.

Jaydn Ott’s dinner plans

Asked about approaching Russell White’s 32-year Cal career rushing record, junior Jaydn Ott smiled and told reporters, “I'm going to hit it this year.”

Ott also said the key to his success is keeping his blockers happy. In order to do that, he took the offensive line to dinner after last season and it sounds like there is more to chow-time to come.

“I got to feed my line,” he said. 

Asked he if takes them out every week, Ott allowed, “Oh, I’m not there yet. Every week is crazy. But at the end of (last) season I told them I was going to take ‘em and treat ‘em right, so we went to a steak house and I let ‘em run it up.”

Ott said he's worked in the offseason on his lower-body strength and has added about five pounds without sacrificing speed.

Ott, who rushed for 1,315 yards last season and needs 1,156 to move past White, who gained 3,367 yards from 1990-92. Ott can become the first Cal back in more than 40 years to lead the team in rushing three straight seasons.

A silly question about the Big Game rivalry

The ACC Network host introduced Ott and safety Craig Woodson by asking if the Bears were hanging out with Stanford players, given that both are newcomers to the conference at the media event on the same day.

“She asks a silly question,” Ott said.

Cal has won the past three Big Games and with a victory on Nov. 23 in Berkeley will enjoy its first four-game streak in the series since the Bears won five in a row from 2002-06.

Woodson chasing a legacy

Safety Craig Woodson said it was a tough decision to return for a sixth season of college football. “I was definitely weighing the NFL,” he said. “But I felt I had a lot more to prove and a lot more to show.”

Beyond that, Woodson said he wanted to be regarded in the company of recent Cal defensive backs who excelled in college before moving on to the NFL. They included recent draft picks Ashtyn Davis, Jaylinn Hawkins, Camryn Bynum and Elijah Hicks. 

“I also just wanted to leave my legacy here at Cal,” said Woodson, an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection last fall. “There’s guys who came before me at Cal who did what they did and I want to be a guy who’s name comes into the conversation as well.”

No stomach for track and field

Although he’s one of the fastest players on the Cal team — the fastest, he has claimed — Ott does not compete on the Bears’ track team. He says he “dabbled” with the sport in high school.

“I messed around with track, but that practice ain’t no joke,” he said. “Man, all the lactic acid buildup. They way they run, they tell me for a warmup, go run laps. I really didn’t take track too serious.”