Darian Mensah may be an ACC champion, but he is not yet a national champion... The Miami Hurricanes have still not won the ACC yet since coming over from the Big East two decades ago, but they are one win away from their first national championship since 2001. It would be No. 6 for The U in program history. Could both of the parties come together in 2026? Stranger things have happened!
ESPN's Pete Thamel said three schools were in the mix for Mensah: Miami, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.
There's three prominent schools with quarterback potential need -- Miami, Tennessee and Ole Miss. For Mensah, Miami looms as the early favorite. https://t.co/1pfWGX15EY
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 16, 2026
Thamel quickly pulled Tennessee away from the conversation, so it might only be Miami and Ole Miss.
Per a source, Tennessee is not recruiting Darian Mensah. https://t.co/PwiXmpLiv7
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 16, 2026
Mensah spent last year playing for former Miami head coach Manny Diaz at Duke. Prior to that, he had starred for former Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall in New Orleans. Sumrall has taken over for Billy Napier in Gainesville since the Green Wave exited the College Football Playoff. The team to eliminate them from the playoff just so happens to be the other team vying for Mensah's services in Ole Miss...
Miami Hurricanes may very well end up with Darian Mensah in the portal
If Miami were to land Mensah, that would be phenomenal for the Hurricanes' overall staying power. It would be his third school in as many seasons, but not only would he be breaking Diaz's heart by switching ACC allegiances, this may help set him up for success at the next level. We saw former Miami starter Cam Ward go No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans in the 2025 NFL Draft last spring.
Although Carson Beck has virtually no shot of being a first-round pick out of Miami, he too is off to the NFL soon. Living and dying by the transfer portal is not the easiest thing for any program to do, but for whatever reason, this seems to be Mario Cristobal's bag, baby! Then again, it is easy to sell a prospective recruit on the allure of playing for a national championship-contending team in Miami.
Overall, this move would have a seismic shift on the national championship picture. Miami would go from a likely candidate to make it back into the College Football Playoff, into being a virtual lock to make the 12-team field, regardless of if Miami wins the ACC or not in 2026. As far as Duke is concerned, Diaz has proven to be a great coach for them, but his former employer is simply better.
If this deal does manifest, that would be magnificent for Miami's chances of winning it all in 2026.