$1.9 million QB reportedly being sued amid transfer portal controversy

A former quarterback of a Power Four football program is reportedly in a lawsuit after entering the NCAA transfer portal

Duke quarterback Darian Mensah (10) looks to pass in the first quarter against Virginia during the 2025 ACC Championship game | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The 2025 college football season officially concluded with No. 1 Indiana's defeat of No. 10 Miami (27-21) in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday night.

In addition to the many similarities they shared going into the national championship, the Hoosiers and Hurricanes will start a different quarterback in 2026 than the one who took them to the national championship. Indiana already has the answer to that question, as it landed former TCU starter Josh Hoover out of the NCAA transfer portal.

Miami also appears to have the answer, as it is heavily targeting former Duke starter Darian Mensah. 2026 would mark the third consecutive season the Hurricanes acquired their starting quarterback from the portal, following Cam Ward (Washington State) and Carson Beck (Georgia).

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder started his college football career at Tulane in 2023, using a redshirt as he sat behind Michael Pratt. Mensah was the Green Wave's starter in 2024, passing for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading Tulane to a nine-win regular season and AAC Championship appearance. He entered the transfer portal prior to Tulane's bowl game.

Mensah replaced the outgoing Maalik Murphy at Duke in 2025. He passed for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions while guiding the Blue Devils to a 9-5 overall record, ACC Championship victory and Sun Belt victory this season.

Mensah was one of the last significant players to decide to enter the NCAA transfer portal before the two-week window closed on Friday. The entry sparked an online discourse about issues with tampering in college athletics.

Duke is not letting Mensah leave it without a fight. The Blue Devils are suing Mensah due to a claim that he signed an NIL deal with the program and is contractually bound to it, according to Sportico.

NEW: Duke is suing star QB Darian Mensah.

The Blue Devils claim he signed an NIL deal and must remain with the program.

(h/t @Sportico)https://t.co/8DwZZOf1Vz pic.twitter.com/Vy3my3VpZV

— On3 (@On3) January 20, 2026

This is not the first time Miami has found itself embroiled in a legal controversy around potential tampering with football players via the NCAA transfer portal. Wisconsin sued the Hurricanes over their acquisition of defensive back Xavier Lucas, who had agreed to a two-year NIL contract extension with the Badgers in December of 2024 before entering the portal a month later.

While the Badgers were unsuccessful in that legal battle, there has been a recent victory for schools fighting to hold players accountable to the contracts they sign.

The situation only escalated to the threat of legal action and an agency dropping a player, but quarterback Demond Williams Jr. stayed at Washington after signing an extension despite efforts from other schools to lure him into the portal.

Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10) throws a touchdown pass against the Elon Phoenix | James Guillory-Imagn Images