Ohio State’s Ryan Day praises Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza ahead of Big Ten Championship

No. 2 Indiana football is set to take on No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday in a historic Big Ten Football Championship game matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Few coaches around the sport know the quarterback position as well as Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, who’s sent two passers to the first round of the NFL Draft during his relatively brief time at the helm of Ohio State and has a past tutoring signal callers in the NFL. Asked about Hoosier quarterback Fernando Mendoza during a media teleconference on Sunday, Day offered praise.

“He looks very intelligent in terms of his ability to identify pre and post snap scheme, makes those decisions as well,” Day said. “He’s accurate, probably I call it sneaky athletic, you know, where maybe you don’t look at him as a dual threat but he makes a lot of plays with his feet, can extend, and he looks like a great leader to me when I’ve listened to him speak. It’ll be a really good challenge for our defense and for our team.”

Mendoza is the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy as of Monday, per FanDuel Sportsbook.