Why aren’t more people talking about Joe Fagnano?
PublishedNovember 10, 2025 5:01 PM EST•UpdatedNovember 10, 2025 5:07 PM EST
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After his performance against Penn State on Saturday, in which he led a game-winning touchdown drive on the road in front of 100,000 hostile fans to preserve Indiana’s undefeated season, quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the toast of the proverbial town.
He’s sitting atop most Heisman projections, earning him the nickname “Heis-Mendoza,” and he’s all but guaranteed a trip to New York City in early December for the award presentation.
Others have generated a lot of press clippings for different reasons, such as LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Florida’s DJ Lagway for their respective benching.
Quarterbacks sometimes get too much blame and other times receive too much praise when neither is warranted. Regardless, people are talking about them.
One quarterback who’s received surprisingly little attention despite his near-flawless play this season is UConn’s Joe Fagnano.
The Huskies’ signal-caller has led them to one of their best starts in more than a decade, backed by a stat line that’s almost hard to believe.
A 25:0 touchdown-to-interception ratio is absolutely bonkers!
The Huskies don’t exactly play a murderer’s row — they’re one of only two FBS independents, and their toughest opponent this season was probably Duke — but what Fagnano’s doing would be impressive against air, let alone real Division I defenses.
It’s also worth noting that UConn has had only one winning season since 2010 — back when Randy Edsall was roaming the sidelines — and if the Huskies win out, including their bowl game, this could mark the first 10-win season in program history.
The wildest part about Fagnano is that he’s also a seventh-year senior.
I’ve made some disparaging comments about the redshirt system in college sports in the past, but at least Fagnano is making the most of it.
Some of the comments on X are asking a similar question: Why is no one talking about this guy?
Others recognize that his advanced age likely limits his ceiling, which helps explain the lack of buzz around him this season.
UConn has one clear NFL prospect — wide receiver Skylar Bell — who’s drawn scouts to Storrs. And while Fagnano has largely flown under the radar, his coach, Jim Mora, who spent nearly three decades in the NFL before moving to the college ranks, says his quarterback may finally be getting some attention, too.
Any way you look at it, Fagnano is putting up the kind of numbers that warrant a little more exposure than he’s gotten to this point.
Yes, he is a seventh-year senior.
Yes, he’s played against soft competition.
But it’s hard to argue with the stats he has compiled as well as the success UConn has had with him under center.
What are your thoughts? Should Fagnano be getting more pub? Or is he the product of a soft schedule and a broken redshirt rule? Email me at austin.perry@outkick.com and let me know.