Wildcat All-Americans
Jan 24, 2005 | General
JAMIE MENDEZ
Free Safety
6-0, 200, 4L
Youngstown , Ohio (Cardinal Mooney HS)
1993 (senior): Consensus first-team All-American by the Associated Press, Kodak, The Football News , the NFL Draft Report and Athlon's ... Earned first-team All-Big Eight... One of eight semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award... Named team's co-MVP... Co-captained team to a 9-2-1 record and the school's first bowl victory in a 52-17 blowout against Wyoming in the Copper Bowl... Recorded 127 tackles, the 18th most in a single season in school history... Finished 11th on the K-State career list in tackles at 313... Ranks first in the career interception list with 15... Finished career first in interception return yardage with 298, over 100 yards more than No. 2 on the list (Bobby Walker)... Second-leading tackler on the team with 127 stops (69 solo)... Also recorded eight pass breakups, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles... Registered eight double-digit tackle games... Best tackle performance on the season came against Western Kentucky when he wrapped up 20 tackles (15 solo)... Had a 19-tackle game against Kansas ... Followed that up with a 14-tackle performance against Nebraska where he also recorded one tackle-for-loss and one pass broken up... Had 11 tackles against Colorado and 10 tackles against both Iowa State and Missouri ... Picked off one pass against both New Mexico State and Oklahoma State .
1992 (junior): Consensus first-team All-Big Eight pick by the Associated Press, Big Eight Coaches and The Football News ... Earned honorable mention all-America honors from The Football News for the second year in a row... Played a portion of the season hurt, but still started all 11 games and had more tackles (67 to 38) and passes broken up (12 to 8) than Colorado's Jim Thopre Award winner Deon Figures and tied Figures for second in the Big Eight with six interceptions... Finished sixth on the team with 67 tackles and was fourth on the squad with 41 solo stops... Tied his K-State single season record with six interceptions, only to have it broke by teammate C.J. Masters (7)... Currently ranked tied for third on the single season interception list... Set a modern day Big Eight record and school record with four interceptions in a win over Temple , including three in the first half... Picked off his 12th career pass in the win over New Mexico State and then broke former NFL great Clarence Scott's career record with his 13th pick in a win over Oklahoma State ... Had six touchdown-saving interceptions or pass breakups, including two against Colorado ... Broke up a career-high three passes against the Buffs and registered 10 tackles... Also had 10 tackles in the Coca-Cola Bowl game against Nebraska in Tokyo , Japan ... Registered seven tackles, including four solo stops, and a blocked field goal at Kansas ... Recovered a fumble in a Thursday night victory over Iowa State .
1991 (sophomore): Joined Michael Smith, Reggie Singletary, Mike Wallace and Gary Spani as the only Wildcats in the last 20 years to earn first-team All-Big Eight status as sophomores... Named third-team Sophomore All-American by The Football News and was honorable mention All-American by that publication... Finished third on the team with 79 tackles and led the squad with 47 unassisted stops, nine passes broken up and two blocked kicks... Tied for fourth in the Big Eight with his nine passes broken up... In a 16-12 victory over Kansas , he recorded nine tackles, two passes broken up and a blocked extra point that eventually forced the Jayhawks to go for a touchdown deep in K-State territory instead of a potential game-tying field goal in the closing seconds... Played his best against ranked opponents... Had a career-high and team-leading 14 tackles against national champion Washington... Had 13 tackles, including eight solo stops, in limiting defending national champion Colorado to a second-low 10 points... Added eight tackles, including give unassisted, and broke up a pass in the Wildcats' near upset at Nebraska ... In the loss at Oklahoma , he carded six tackles, blocked a field goal and deflected one pass... Also led K-State with eight tackles, six solos, an interception and one pass broken up in a 41-7 win over Idaho State .
1990 (redshirt freshman): Tied the K-State season record with six interceptions and broke the school standard for interception return yardage (154)... Tabbed honorable mention All-Big Eight by the Associated Press and UPI, in addition to newcomer of the year honors... Led the Big Eight in interceptions-per-game and was ninth nationally with six picks in 11 games... Totaled 40 tackles on the season and led the secondary with four tackles for losses... Third on the team with four passes broke up... Recovered two fumbles and forced another... Broke open a tight game against New Mexico with a third-quarter, 72-yard interception return for a touchdown, which gave K-State a 19-6 cushion en route to a 38-6 victory... Added seven tackles and two passes broken up against the Lobos, and combined with Elijah Alexander to tackles UNM quarterback Jeremy Leach for a second-quarter safety... Set up the game-winning touchdown with a 25-yard interception return in the fourth quarter of K-State's 23-17 win over Oklahoma State ... Had a season-high 11 tackles, including two for losses totaling 24 yards, in the Wildcats' 28-14 win over Iowa State ... Stalled an early Cyclone touchdown threat by jarring the ball loose from Blaise Bryant and recovering it deep in Kansas State territory... Also added an interception against ISU... Other interceptions came against New Mexico State , Missouri and Colorado ... Blocked a field goal against Colorado .
1989 (freshman): Redshirt season.
High School: All-state selection at Cardinal Mooney, the same school that produced then-Wildcat co-defensive coordinator Bob Stoops and then-defensive ends coach Mike Stoops... Coached by Don Bucci... Helped high school team register eight shutouts in 1987 en route to a 13-1 record and the Division III state title... Cardinal Mooney also captured the league title in 1988... Sprinter on the high school track team... Served as the football team captain.
Personal: Born Feb. 20, 1971, in Youngstown , Ohio ... Son of Jamie, Jr., and Carmen Mendez... Majored in business administration.
| Defensive Statistics |
| Year | G | TT | UT | AT | TFL | Sck | PB | FC | FR | Int |
| 1990 | 11 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 4-32 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 1991 | 11 | 79 | 47 | 32 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1992 | 11 | 67 | 41 | 26 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 1993 | 11 | 127 | 69 | 58 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 44 | 313 | 177 | 136 | 7-36 | 0-0 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
