Miami's Heisman-hopeful QB Excited for More After First Day of Fall Camp

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami's Fall Camp and its first day have been brought to a close, and some star players are excited about the future.

Darian Mensah enters his first Fall Camp with the Miami Hurricanes with a few things on his mind. He wants to be the best version of himself and knows that at Miami, he is forced to be better early on, starting this camp.

"I'm doing great today," Mensah opened with after practice. "It's great to be out there. I feel like the energy was up, which is expected on day one, but lot more work to put in."

That work has been highlighted in the battles that he has faced in the Hurricanes' secondary. OJ Frederique Jr. continues to show, showing the levels that Mensah is going to have to grow at as a QB for the Canes.

From being thrown into the fire and now shifting to being a gem. OJ Frederique Jr. continues to grow as a superstar corner #miamihurricanes | #collegefootball pic.twitter.com/Lb6wPey2bf
— Eye of the Hurricanes (@CanesCentralSI) August 4, 2026

"It just makes me kind of be on time, and in early with the throws, and it makes you gotta have to make NFL type throws," Mensah said to start off camp. "Having elite, you know, offensive and defensive skill players, just means you got to have that level of play, that elite as well. So it makes me that much better."

Some of those elite offensive players have continued to show up. Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate are the top players in the country, but they won't be the only ones that Mensah will have his eyes on.

The 6-foot-3 red-shirt junior also pointed out a different star that is growing in more than one way.

"Yeah, I think he stepped into more of like a leadership role," Mensah said about Daylyn Upshaw. "He's you know he's one of the guys who are staying out to practice and catching extra balls, so he's, you, one of the examples in the leader room. and I I think that just speaks to who he is as a person and a player. So I'm proud of that dude, but, like I said, he's got a long way to go, and so does the rest of the offense."

Darian Mensah During Miami's Spring Game | Miami Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah (10) passes during UM’s spring football game at Cobb Stadium on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Florida, on Saturday, April 18, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZadiaz@miamiherald.com

Now the offense is fully getting together and gelling. Mensah has bought into the Hurricanes' "1-0" mentality, giving him peace of mind by focusing on one thing at a time.

"Just 1-0 in everything that we are doing," Mensah said. "You know, it starts with, you know, meetings, starts with lists, and just be present, you know, within everything that we're doing, not focusing on anything external and really just focusing on the internal."

Furthermore, the only way that Mensah knows he can succeed at Miami is to block out the noise and distractions and just ball.

Darian Mensah at the 2026 ACC Football Kickoff | Miami Hurricanes Athletics

"Just to say true to myself, I feel like that's really the challenge: to stay true, and be yourself through everything," Mensah said. "You can get kind of cloudy when, you know, you've got all these cameras and a lot of people, you know, expectations, but staying true, staying down, continuing putting the work is kind of the challenge."

Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes-related: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.

Add us as a preferred source on Google