One of the biggest stories in the CFB world came to a right and proper end when former Duke Blue Devils QB Darian Mensah announced his commitment to transfer to the Miami Hurricanes.
A 6’3” 200lb signal caller, Mensah is one of the top players at his position in the sport, and gives Miami another top tier starting Quarterback for the 2026 season.
Mensah starred at Tulane in 2024 before transferring to Duke for the 2025 season. While there, he compiled 3.973 yards on 67% completions with 34 touchdowns and 6 interceptions for the ACC Champion Blue Devils. For his efforts, Mensah was named 2nd team All-ACC in 2025.
The point of contention/what made this a national story was the fact that when he transferred to Duke, Mensah apparently signed a 2 year NIL agreement. However, Mensah decided he wanted to enter the transfer portal just before it closed, a move which Duke opposed.
Our Rob Weaver wrote about the saga here at State of the U. First, Duke won a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO). While the school was obligated to enter Mensah’s name into the portal, but Mensah was precluded from withdrawing from Duke or enrolling at any other institution. Facing another hearing on the matter, Weaver wrote that it was in Duke’s best interest to settle this lawsuit, which they did earlier on Tuesday.
With all barriers removed, Mensah immediately visited Miami’s Coral Gables campus on Tuesday afternoon. How was he able to get there so fast? He’d already been in Miami for multiple days according to several reports.
Regardless of how we got here, this is the destination Miami wanted. Mensah immediately steps into the QB1 role, and Miami should once again be a playoff and national championship contender because of it. We’ll have more analysis on this in the coming days, but this is a major, MAJOR step forward for the 2026 season for the Miami Hurricanes.
I’m elated. This is awesome. I love being rich.
