$1.9 million college football QB emerges as No. 5 ranked player in transfer portal

A Power Four quarterback has been ranked a top five prospect in the NCAA transfer portal following his late entry.

Duke quarterback Darian Mensah (10) throws the ball under pressure from Wake Forest defensive lineman Gabe Kirschke (10) | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

The two-week window for college football players looking to enter the NCAA transfer portal is officially closed. The portal window opened on Jan. 2 and shut its doors on Friday at midnight.

A few thousand players across all levels of college football made the decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal in the month after the end of the regular season.

Many of these players made their decision prior to the window's opening, but a significant portion decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal during its window.

One of the last entries during the portal window was former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah, who made his announcement on Friday afternoon. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his third school.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder started his college football career under Willie Fritz at Tulane in 2023. The Green Wave started Michael Pratt that season, so Mensah redshirted and did not see game action. Fritz left for the head coaching vacancy at Houston the following offseason, but Mensah stayed for the coaching change to Jon Sumrall.

Mensah became Tulane's starter in 2024. He passed for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for another 132 yards and a touchdown. He guided the Green Wave to a nine-win regular season and an AAC Championship appearance before entering the transfer portal that December.

Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah (10) throws against the Memphis Tigers | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Duke brought in Mensah to replace the departing Maalik Murphy as its starting quarterback for the 2025 season. He threw for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions while guiding the Blue Devils to an ACC Championship victory and subsequent Sun Bowl victory. He was named MVP of the ACC Championship game and All-ACC Second Team.

Mensah's high outputs at two different college football programs have made him an intriguing prospect in the 2026 transfer portal cycle. ESPN ranked Mensah as the No. 5 overall player to hit the NCAA transfer portal in the offseason in an updated projection.

"A true dual-threat, Mensah has intelligence, instincts and a knack for passing nuance," wrote Tom Luginbill. "He can layer the ball, throw across his body and on the move and drop the ball in a bucket in the vertical passing game."

The initial linkages to Mensah in the transfer portal have been to Miami, a linkage that has sparked controversy given the Hurricanes' history with Manny Diaz and the legal battle they encountered in their acquisition of defensive back Xavier Lucas.

Mensah would mark the third quarterback acquisition in the portal in as many years for Miami, following Cam Ward (Washington State) and Carson Beck (Georgia), the last two seasons.