Why Mensah’s Departure From Duke 'Feels Worse’

The Duke football program was ready to enter the 2026 College Football season with true College Football Playoff aspirations. The Blue Devils were coming off a 9-5 season, the second straight campaign of nine wins under head coach Manny Diaz, that concluded with the program's first ACC Championship since 1989.

Then, the biggest curveball the program could've been thrown occurred. Duke star quarterback Darian Mensah, just under a month after announcing he'd be returning to Durham in 2026, announced his intention to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal just hours before the entry window was set to close on Jan. 16.

Miami quickly emerged as the school to watch to land the former Tulane and Duke quarterback, with a hefty offer rumored to be thrown Mensah's way.

Now, in this state of college athletics, this is how it goes. Programs with lucrative NIL money have the capacity to steal players right at the last second, and no verbal pledge from an athlete to his current school really means anything anymore.

Jan 18, 2026; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal at the CFP head coaches press conference at JW Marriott Marquis Miami. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

However, Mensah's farewell to Duke right as the buzzer sounded felt different. The rising redshirt junior made a simple business decision and was right in a lot of ways to take it. Nonetheless, the timing, mixed with Mensah's previous announcement of his return to Duke, hit home with a lot of fans, and not in the best way.

Dec 6, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz looks on after the game against the Virginia Cavaliers during the 2025 ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Darian Mensah’s Last-Second Portal Entry Feels Different

Duke did everything in its power to keep Mensah around. The Blue Devils signed the QB to a two-year deal estimated to be around $7.5 million ahead of the 2025 campaign. But in the grand scheme of things, none of that really matters.

Here's what The Athletic's Antonio Morales and David Ubben had to say about the matter.

Darian Mensah has entered the transfer portal with Miami as the heavy favorite

Here is Mensah making a LeBron type Decision in which he announced a return to Duke… one month ago

pic.twitter.com/x3QvI6QHMM
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) January 16, 2026

"It feels worse or more costly for Duke because of a couple of factors," Morales said. "The first being timing. The portal closed on Friday, and the Blue Devils just lost their starting quarterback. It’s not like they can easily add a proven quarterback now because a lot of those guys are off the board and they can’t lure someone into the portal because it’s closed."

"To me, it exposes how little power the schools have," Ubben added. "Duke did everything it could do. It signed Mensah to a multi-year deal. It got a commitment from him last month to stay. It’s paying him at the top of the market at $4 million. And now someone is willing to reset the market out of desperation."

Darian Mensah to @CanesFootball for 10 million NIL shows that #miami has plans to be back next year.
Put him in an offense w/ Malachi Toney, Mark Fletcher, Elijah Lofton and others and Miami is the ACC favorite pic.twitter.com/JAFN6Q54no
— Chris Connor (@LastCallwChrisC) January 18, 2026

After Miami missed on top portal quarterbacks like Ty Simpson and Sam Leavitt, Mensah became its last-ditch effort to land an elite talent. Unfortunately for Duke, it just couldn't compete.

What Does Duke’s QB Room Currently Look Like?

Duke backup Henry Belin IV entered the portal after the season. Duke's current QB room includes incoming 3-star freshman Terry Walker III, redshirt freshman Dan Mahan, and North Alabama transfer Ari Patu.

Patu appeared in seven games for the Lions in 2025.

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