While everybody gives credit and flowers to Fernando Mendoza for their historic run, college football has forgotten about the man who keeps Fernando Mendoza on line. Nope, we are not talking about Curt Cignetti. The word around Bloomington is that the Indiana Hoosiers’ QB3 is part of the reason why the Hoosiers are where they are today.

Looking back, Grant Wilson doesn’t regret his decision one bit. In fact, he’s fully acknowledging the blessing of playing for Curt Cignetti. He didn’t shy away from letting it be known on National Championship media day:

“It’s been so rewarding, and look where we are. You couldn’t ask for anything better,” Grant Wilson said on Saturday with a big smile on his face.

Grant Wilson is the “unsung hero” of the 2025 Indiana Hoosiers for many reasons. But mostly, for putting team success unapologetically above his own stats. Even though he had been a starting quarterback at Old Dominion, he chose to transfer to Indiana for his sixth and final year, knowing he would probably be the third-string QB behind the likes of the Mendoza brothers.

Instead of being disappointed about not starting, he used his veteran experience to mentor the team’s stars during their historic 15-0 run. Wilson’s biggest impact was behind the scenes, where he became a mentor for starting Fernando Mendoza.

Truth be told, he wasn’t there just to ride to glory by sitting on the bench. In fact, he acted like an extra coach, using hand signals to fix Fernando’s fundamentals during games and spending hours helping him study opposing defenses. Mendoza holds him in the highest regard.

“He could have been like, ‘Oh, I’m a vet and be along for the ride,’ but he was selfless,” Mendoza said.

Coming to Grant Wilson’s football journey, he is no less than a classic story of perseverance and selflessness. He started his college career at Fordham before moving to Old Dominion, where he really made a name for himself in 2023. That year, he led the Monarchs to the Toastery Bowl. The former Old Dominion QB threw for over 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Plus, he even set a school record for the longest run by a quarterback with a 79-yard dash. It was only a matter of time before he got the call from the big leagues (Power Four).

“I was sliding, trying to spike the ball at the end of the game, the defensive lineman fell on the back of my arm when I was planting to get up,” Grant said. “It was a big deal; it was similar to the injury Jayden Daniels suffered this year.”

Once he rehabbed, he had plenty of Power Four offers for the starting gig. But Curt Cignetti’s offer was too dear to turn down.

“It’s hard to turn down Curt Cignetti. Just listening to his pitch and seeing what he did from Elon to JMU, and then the 2024 season,” Grant said. “It’s unreal. Hard to deny the success he’s had.”

You might ask, why would a coach of Curt Cignetti’s caliber go after a Group of Five QB? Well, Curt and Grant Wilson had gone toe to toe before in their G5 days. As a matter of fact, Wilson nearly derailed Cignetti’s perfect 10-0 JMU record before a third touchdown got overruled in the last minutes of the fourth quarter.

Fast forward two years, and Grant Wilson and Indiana sit at a perfect 15-0, preparing for their first-ever National Championship against Miami, which is recording exorbitant ticket prices.

While that’s that, what does the QB3 plan to do in the future?

Grant Wilson’s future ambition

On top of the coaching help, Wilson brought a lot of humor to the locker room to keep the pressure from getting to everyone. He would joke about “rat poison” (a term for too much media praise) to keep Fernando humble as he became a Heisman finalist. By poking fun at the hype, he helped keep the mood light during some of the biggest games in the program‘s history.

Now, as the season wraps up, Wilson is looking toward a future in coaching.

“Being around coach Cignetti, Shanahan, and Whitmer, that’s opened my eyes,” Wilson said. “That’s the world I want to be in. The way they do everything, the way they scheme against defenses, it’s something I admire.”

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While he’s finishing his MBA at Indiana’s Kelley School of Business, he’s already preparing for a career on the sidelines where he can keep being a hero for the next generation of ballers.