How UNC Can Slow Down Duke QB Darian Mensah

On this episode of the Tar Heels Insider Podcast, host Grant Chachere breaks down Duke's explosive offense led by Darian Mensah and what the Tar Heels can do to stop it.

To hear what he had to say, check out the video below!

Here is a partial transcript from Bill Belichick's weekly presser from Wednesday...

On the Rivalry…

UNC — Oct 2, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels players celebrate after winning the game and the Victory Bell at Kenan Memorial Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

For Duke, I mean, obviously a big rivalry game here for us. This game means a lot to people in Carolina, people at UNC, people at Duke, obviously a big division here, and that’s what makes these games exciting and fun and super competitive. So everybody knows each other pretty well, and looking forward to being a participant in this event.

On Manny Diaz…

Nov 8, 2025; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz on the field before the start of the game against the UConn Huskies at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

I have a ton of respect for Manny (Diaz)… I’ve learned a lot from spending time with him, and talking football with him on multiple occasions when he was at Miami as a defensive coordinator, when he coached at Penn State, and even a little bit at Duke last year, one of my former coaches is there, worked on his defensive staff for him at Penn State. So I have a lot of familiarity with how he coaches, the job he does, and he’s an excellent coach…

On Darian Mensah…

UNC — Nov 8, 2025; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10) throws a pass against the UConn Huskies in the first quarter at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

(Darian) Mensah, I saw him play in person last year. Was super impressed with him. This guy’s a really, really good quarterback. I think he’s the best quarterback we faced, and we faced some good quarterbacks, but this guy really reminds me of an NFL quarterback.

He’s got great presence in the pocket. He does an excellent job of seeing coverages, seeing receivers. He’s very accurate down the field, good throwing mechanics. He can certainly run and get out of trouble and avoid the rush and extend plays. But he’s not out there running around trying to be a running back.

When you’ve talked to your dad about coaching here, did he ever mention what it was like coaching and competing in this game?

UNC football coach Bill Belichick during a press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025 inside the Kenan Football Center. | Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yeah, sure. Yeah, it was the game. It was the game. I mean, I don’t think it’s Army-Navy, but it’s that kind of type of game. And my whole life, I’ve been involved and grew up in an Army-Navy rivalry. I was a little too young for the Duke-UNC rivalry before we left Chapel Hill and went to Annapolis.

But from the time I was the littlest kid in Annapolis, it was Army-Navy, it was those 10 games, or however many games that were, and then it was Army. And so here you got a couple other state games, like Wake Forest, NC State, those are big rivalry games too, but Duke, that’s it.”

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