Raiders GM John Spytek reveals moment he knew Fernando Mendoza was the one

There were a few key dates for the Las Vegas Raiders this year that led them to Thursday night when they turned in their card to select Fernando Mendoza. But only one of those dates was the one that tied all this together. The first was probably December 13.

That's when Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football. But at that point the Raiders didn't even know whether they'd be in range to draft a top QB in this draft, let alone THE top QB. The next date was January 4.

That was the day they secured the number one overall pick in the draft. Even before the outcome of their season finale against the Chiefs, they knew they had locked up the top pick. But that wasn't the day.

The next was January 19. That's when Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers completed their perfect season and won the College Football National Championship. But, according to Raiders GM John Spytek, that wasn't the day either.