COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Marselio Mendez looked at Saint John's University as a senior at Cretin-Derham Hall High School, then again after his first season at North Dakota State College of Science (a two-year school in Wahpeton) in 2021. 
 
After his second season there, though, he finally decided to take the plunge.  
 
Now he wishes he had done it sooner.
 
"It's funny how that works out," the 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior wide receiver said. "It took me awhile to decide this was the place for me. But now that I've been here, I feel like maybe I should have come here the first time around. 
 
"I've definitely decided being a Johnnie is right for me."
 
The SJU coaching staff is glad to finally have him aboard. Mendez has made an immediate impact during his first season in Collegeville. Through six games, he has 24 catches for 301 yards and is tied for the team lead with seven touchdown catches.
 
"He was up here working out with the guys this summer," SJU offensive coordinator Kole Heckendorf said. "After talking to (senior quarterback) Aaron (Syverson) and some of the other receivers, we knew he brought something different and that he was probably going to be able to help us from day one.
 
"He has that ability to make guys miss (tackles) when he has the ball in the open field. But more than that, he's a fun guy to have around. He's a great fit on this team." 
 
Senior starting wide receivers Nick VanErp and Jimmy Buck both suffered injuries in the season-opening 34-31 overtime victory over Trinity (Texas) on Sept. 2. VanErp returned in a 27-7 victory over Bethel on Sept. 23 and Buck got back on the field on a very limited basis in last week's 63-7 Homecoming victory over previously unbeaten Carleton. 
 
Their absence was a big blow to the SJU offense, but it also opened the door for players like Mendez and sophomore Dylan Wheeler to show what they could do.
 
"I didn't know for sure what to expect when the season started," said Mendez, whose team is 4-0 in MIAC play and 5-1 overall entering an MIAC Northwoods Division matchup Saturday at Gustavus Adolphus (3-3, 2-2 MIAC). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Hollingsworth Field in St. Peter. 
 
"I knew there were a lot of great receivers on this team, and that I'd have to work for anything I'd get. You never want to see anyone go down, especially guys like (VanErp and Buck). But I had confidence in my ability to step in and be a playmaker if that's what they needed me to do."
 
Mendez has been joined at SJU by linebacker Cage Linton, with whom he played at Cretin-Derham Hall and again at NDSCS the past two seasons.
 
"It's been really nice having him here, especially coming into a new situation like this," said Mendez, who led the Wildcats in receiving last year with 41 catches for 881 yards and 13 touchdowns as they finished 9-2 and earned a berth in the NJCAA Division III national title game.
 
"It's funny because Cage and I are best friends. So people ask us if we follow each other around. But we really haven't. We both had the chance to play here and we both thought it was the right fit."
 
Mendez is a global leadership major who hopes to one day start his own company -- perhaps centered on sports marketing.
 
"I'd love to do something that keeps me connected to football, or to sports in general," he said. "But I'm open to exploring whatever opportunities are out there."
 
For now, he is making the most of the opportunities that have come his way on the football field at SJU.
 
"You have to believe in yourself," he said. "You can't get cocky, even when things are going well. You need to stay humble. But you have to have the confidence in yourself to know you can succeed when you're given the chance.
 
"And that's what I've been trying to do here."