No. 1 college football QB in transfer portal faces major problem amid NIL controversy

With the transfer portal delivering as much player movement as we have ever seen in college football history, programs across the country are starting to fight back.

We had already seen the Washington Huskies and Big Ten threaten so much litigation that it would be difficult for star quarterback Demond Williams to leave the program, and now the transfer journey of Duke quarterback Darian Mensah seems to be headed in a similar direction.

Mensah signed an NIL deal worth around $8 million after leaving Tulane for Duke prior to this season. He had already announced he was planning to return to Duke weeks ago, yet it was revealed on the final day to enter the transfer portal that he would be doing so. He was immediately linked to Miami, which is attempting to replace Carson Beck, but Duke isn't going down without a fight.

According to Yahoo's Ross Dellenger, Duke will enter Mensah's name into the portal, but were able to get a temporary restraining order that will prevent him from enrolling at another school to play football.

"Duke is expected to comply with NCAA rules by entering Mensah into the portal soon," wrote Dellenger. "However, a judge granted Duke a temporary restraining order prohibiting him from violating his agreement with the school, which includes enrolling at another university and playing football."

Virginia Cavaliers defensive end Cazeem Moore (6) pressures Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10). | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Duke also issued a statement to ESPN on the matter, making it abundantly clear that they are expecting him to follow the terms of the contract he agreed to.

"Mr. Mensah has an existing contract with Duke which the university intends to honor, and we expect he will do the same," Duke said to ESPN. "The court-ordered temporary restraining order (TRO) issued yesterday ensures he does not violate his contract. The university is committed to supporting all of our student-athletes, while expecting each of them to abide by their contractual obligations."

ESPN's Mark Schlabach also reported earlier in the week that Mensah technically cannot profit off of his rights if he is at another program, as he signed them away to Duke when he inked his deal.

"Duke alleges in the lawsuit that if Mensah joins another school, he'll "negotiate a license agreement for the rights that he has licensed to Duke," wrote Schlabach.

That said, we have seen players find loopholes before. In fact, Miami corner Xavier Lucas ended up having to withdraw as a student from Wisconsin after the program refused to put his name in the portal last year. He then was able to transfer to Miami, and was a key part of the team's run through the playoffs.

In what many would consider a coincidence, Mensah is being represented by Darren Heitner, who also represented Lucas last offseason.

So, while Mensah is ranked as the No. 1 available player in the portal, it doesn't seem he will be going anywhere. At least, for now.