|
From crespifootball.com College Players
The son of a Guatemalan mother and Nicaraguan father, Mendez was asked to go out for football his freshman year at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Calif. “I never played football until high school. My mom didn’t understand football and I didn’t, either,” said Mendez, a 6 foot, 290-pound senior offensive lineman for the St. Cloud State football team. “They just told me that, with my body, I could be of some help.
Despite his relatively short exposure to the sport, Mendez has moved into an important role for the Huskies this week. Because of a knee injury to Andrew Kaczor, Mendez will start at center for undefeated St. Cloud State Saturday. The Huskies will play Augustana at 1p.m. in a North Central Conference game at Howard Wood Field. The two teams are tied for the NCC lead with 2-0 conference records (4-0 overall). St. Cloud State is looking for its first 5-0 start since 1976. Augustana is 4-0 for the first time since 1942 when it finished 8-0. Mendez had no idea where St. Cloud was until he was a sophomore at Los Angeles Valley Community College. The Huskies were recruiting tackle Dan Hytry, who decided to go to Tennessee Tech. But Hytry gave Mendez St. Cloud State head coach Randy Hedberg’s number. Without making a recruiting visit, Mendez, who had never seen snow, decided to play for the Huskies. “I was recruited in late spring semester and it was a real surprise to me that I actually got recruited because I had given up on it,” Mendez said. “All of a sudden, I got an offer and I took it. I just blindly said, ‘Yes’” And how was his first winter? Well, let’s just say that Mendez had to make a shopping trip and also had to slow down after a lifetime spent in Southern California. “It’s a whole different lifestyle here being from Los Angeles,” Mendez said. “People are much more open and nice here, but the pace of life is really slow. My football team has been my family here. “My first winter, I had to buy jackets, boots, mittens. People still give me a hard time because I wear shorts and t-shirts in the winter.” Mendez sat out a medical redshirt season in 2000 because of a knee injury, but almost ended up having to be activated late that season because of more injuries. “(Guard) Jimmy McCarville pulled, he fell and took out my leg and he still hears from me about that one,” Mendez said, laughing. “It was nothing too serious.” The injury to Kaczor is pretty serious. Kaczor suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee last week against South Dakota State. He will miss 6-8 weeks, though the injury does not required surgery. Mendez started nine games last season when Kaczor had problems with the regulation of his diabetes medication. “I’ve had to make the same adjustment as I did last year and get into stride with what everyone else is doing,” Mendez said of starting. “It’s been tough playing a backup role, but it’s an important position. You saw what happened when Andrew went down and Cory (McLouden) went down for a little bit last game – the backup role really kicked in there.” © Copyright 2001 by crespifootball.com |
