There's a new No. 1 QB in the college football transfer portal

As college football fans gather on Monday evening to see who will be crowned the champion, there is another huge mystery hanging over the sport.

This, of course, is what will happen in the recruitment of Duke quarterback transfer Darian Mensah. With other marquee transfer portal quarterbacks off the board as Sam Leavitt is headed to LSU, DJ Lagway to Baylor, Dylan Raiola to Oregon and Brendan Sorsby to Texas Tech, Mensah has emerged as the new top dog in the portal.

Mensah's name surfaced in the transfer portal this past Friday, which marked the final day for players to enter their names into the portal. He spent just one season at Duke, after the program put together an NIL package that would see him earn $4 million across two seasons to transfer from Tulane.

He had a tremendous season in Durham, throwing for a program record 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns. He also led the Blue Devils football program to its first outright ACC Championship since 1962. As a result of his success, Mensah immediately ranked as the top signal caller available.

According to 247Sports' transfer portal rankings, Mensah ranks as the No. 1 quarterback available in the portal, while also ranking as the No. 4 available player overall. He trails only Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, Ole Miss EDGE Princewill Umanmielen and Missouri EDGE Damon Wilson II.

Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10). — Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10) celebrates after the Blue Devils score a touchdown. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Although programs such as Ole Miss and Tennessee were linked to him upon his entry into the transfer portal, Mensah has been heavily linked to Miami.

While the Hurricanes are playing for the championship Monday evening against Indiana, they technically do not have a clear answer for who will be their quarterback next year. They do have redshirt sophomore Emory Williams, who has been with the program since 2023, and are also bringing in four-star freshman Dereon Coleman.

However, Mario Cristobal has found loads of success through the transfer portal, as Washington State transfer Cam Ward had a tremendous season a year ago before being selected with the No. 1 pick in the draft. This season, Miami has been led by Georgia transfer Carson Beck.

It's unclear when Mensah will make his decision, but three 247Sports recruiting/transfer portal insiders have placed predictions for the Hurricanes to land him.

Considering he is leaving a Duke program that paid him $4 million, and could be joining a Miami program that offered Alabama's Ty Simpson $6.5 million, Mensah could be in for another historic payday.