It's the biggest night of Fernando Mendoza's life.

After a final season in college in which he won the Heisman Trophy and the College Football Playoff national championship with the Indiana Hoosiers, he will achieve his dream of becoming an NFL quarterback on Thursday.

And on top of all that, he is almost assuredly going No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, anointing him the franchise's new face and star under center.

But Mendoza won't be on stage in Pittsburgh, shaking hands with commissioner Roger Goodell and putting on the silver and black live in front of a gigantic crowd.

Instead, Mendoza will be at home in Miami, surrounded by his family, friends, and the people in his life who helped him make it to the NFL.

It was a decision made by Mendoza weeks before the draft, and he has stuck by it, even with new reports that the NFL has done everything in its power to get the No. 1 pick to Pittsburgh.

The NFL attempted to even have Peyton Manning, someone who had coached and trained Mendoza before, persuade the Hoosiers signal-caller to come to Pittsburgh, but he declined all the same.

Will Mendoza be penalized for no-showing the draft?

No, although some fans believe that Mendoza might get in trouble for his choice, the NFL has no power over players expected to get drafted on the night.

Currently, Mendoza has zero association with the NFL and is under no contract with any team.

There have also been numerous cases of players who've shown up to the draft only to find themselves stuck in the green room for days on end, becoming the punchline of the NFL's own version of a reality show.

While Mendoza won't be one of those cases, the decision was ultimately up to him, and the Hoosiers signal-caller was steadfast in his approach.

But Miami, where he threw the ball in the backyard dreaming of this day, will be where he becomes an NFL quarterback.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Does Fernando Mendoza get penalized for skipping the NFL Draft?