Merrick Azzarello

Sierra College | Placer Hs 2025 | Slot Receiver/ATH | 1st Team All League | 5’10 175 l 3.5 GPA | 4.5 40 | (530)-308-3917 [email protected]

[Merrick Azzarello @MerrickAzzarel1]

Greyshirt freshman who can do it all! Putting on size and speed this offseason getting faster and stronger everyday

[JUCO Football Frenzy @JUCOFFrenzy]

Out The Mud #JUCOPRODUCT

[Collin Bray @CollinBray40]

Longtime coming. Blessed to COMMIT to @CSU_FB!! Thank you to every coach that has recruited me. Back 2 work!

@BaizCoach @ARCBeaverBall @GabeGiardina @Coach_AntRod @mason_csu @JuCoFootballACE @JUCOFFrenzy

[Miller @cemiller214]

ALWAYS A GREAT DAY ON THE BLVD

#BLVDBOYZ

[Gage Esty @GageEsty]

I am so blessed and exited to receive an offer from UCLA from @Coach_Smith61. I really enjoyed the opportunity in watching the practice and the way the coaches run it! Can’t wait for the OV!!

[Develle Barksdale Jr @dbarksdalejr]

Let’s make history !!
@ChiStateFB @BobbyBlizzard_

[Merrick Azzarello @MerrickAzzarel1]

@J_Georgeson26 @A2J15 @brothershoops Rest easy God gained a pair of wings🩶

[Develle Barksdale Jr @dbarksdalejr]

Offered by D1 FCS Chicago State!! @BobbyBlizzard_

[Merrick Azzarello @MerrickAzzarel1]

YUP🫣

[Gage Esty @GageEsty]

I am so blessed for @TevitaLose coming out to my school this morning and giving me an offer from SDSU!!! @AztecFB

[Gage Esty @GageEsty]

I am so blessed to receive an offer from UNR, after a great talk with @CoachChoateFB I’m very honored to receive an offer from UNR!!

[DK🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 @1Nicdar]

130 schools said no.
He led the losingest program in college football history to a national championship anyway.
Fernando Mendoza was a 2-star recruit from Miami.

He tried to walk on at his hometown school. They passed.
So did FIU.
So did FAU.
So did everyone else.

At 17, he was sitting in his bedroom, crying over a silent recruiting inbox—after driving to 18 camps with his dad and sending highlights to more than 100 programs.
Not one FBS offer.
His only option? Yale. No scholarship. No NFL path.

Everyone told him to be “realistic.”
“Know your place.”
“Be grateful.”
He didn’t listen.
Because Mendoza understood something most people miss:
The worst outcome isn’t failing.
It’s never getting the chance to try.

Two weeks before signing day in 2022, his phone rang.
Cal needed a body. One offer. Out of 134 schools.
He took it.
He arrived as the third-string quarterback.
Spent a year on the scout team.
Lost his first four starts.
Got sacked 41 times behind a broken offensive line.

Still got up. Every time.
Then Cal brought in a transfer instead of building around him.
So Mendoza left the only school that had ever said yes.
He transferred to Indiana—the losingest program in college football history.

People laughed.
“Career suicide.”
“Graveyard program.”
“Nobody wins there.”
One coach told him something different:
“I’m going to make you the best Fernando Mendoza possible.”
That was enough.
Mendoza wasn’t just playing for football.
His mother has battled multiple sclerosis for 18 years.

Before every snap, he thought of her.
“My mother is my why.”
Indiana went 16–0.
Beat six Top-10 teams.
Won their first Big Ten title since 1945.
Mendoza threw 41 touchdowns.
Won the Heisman—first in school history.
First Cuban-American to ever do it.

Then came the title game.
Miami. Near his hometown.
Fourth-and-4. Season on the line.
Quarterback draw.
The kid 134 schools rejected spun through defenders and dove into the end zone.

Game over.
Indiana—national champions.
The losingest program became the best team in America.
All because a 17-year-old refused to believe “no” was the end.

Rankings don’t decide your ceiling.
Gatekeepers don’t write your ending.
Being overlooked isn’t a verdict—it’s a starting point.

Sometimes all you need is one shot…
and the courage to bet on yourself when nobody else will.
Don’t quit.

Credit: Barclay Mullins

[Gage Esty @GageEsty]

I am so blessed to receive a verbal offer from Boise state. It’s a great chance to go play with my brother for 2 years!!

[Merrick Azzarello @MerrickAzzarel1]

Greyshirt freshman who can do it all! Putting on size and speed this offseason getting faster and stronger everyday

[Zander Esty @EstyZander]

Great visit to Sac State this weekend! Thank you for the hospitality!

[Dontaé Robinson 6’5 215WR @DontaeRobinson0]

#Committed #FireUpChips 🔥

[Maasai Gibson @Maasaigibson56]

Committed!💜🤍

[Zander Esty @EstyZander]

AGTG! Thank you @CoachNGilbert for the time on the phone! OFFERED

[Ricardo Ravuiwasa @RicardoRavu77]

After a great talk with @Coach_Noonan I’m truly blessed to receive an offer from @SierraCollegeFB !!
#juco #AGTG

[Jamal wallace @loswolf11]

Offered @ClemsonFB

[Collin Bray @CollinBray40]

After a Great talk with @CoachJermAustin I’m blessed and grateful to receive my 3rd D1 Offer to @MSUEaglesFB!!

@ARCBeaverBall @Coach_Ohout @BaizCoach @JUCOFFrenzy @JuCoFootballACE