How formative years at Cal prepped Fernando Mendoza to play for the Raiders

Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza returned to the Cal campus in May to accept his diploma from the Haas School of Business, flying in alone from Las Vegas between organized team activities. Business instructor Dan Himelstein, who hosted Mendoza at commencement, said the Heisman Trophy winner and top draft pick carried himself like 'another kid' and that the campus still feels like home to him.

Mendoza's three-year tenure with the Golden Bears forged the foundation he later built upon at Indiana, where he won the Heisman and led the Hoosiers to a national title. Stephen Etter, a Cal alum and business instructor who taught and advised Mendoza, said the quarterback had the vision from his early days as a backup and fought through setbacks and mental mistakes to develop evident leadership. Etter flew in for Mendoza's starting debut Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium.

Mendoza's Cal letterman's jacket hung in his Raiders locker next to the spot recently vacated by veteran Kirk Cousins. He remains close with his former teammates, including ex-kicker and roommate Michael Luckhurst, who said Mendoza has not changed despite his meteoric rise. 'Almost everyone would change having the year he's had, and he hasn't changed a single bit,' Luckhurst said. 'He's never too busy for people that were always there.'

Mendoza keeps in touch with his Cal circle through texts and weekly planned FaceTime calls, and several friends met him in New York when the Raiders played the Jets this month. Himelstein and Etter still receive random messages and photos from their former student, who reverently continues to address Etter as 'Professor.'

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal