Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Duke has good lawyers, but considering how lawless college football has seemed in the NIL and Transfer Portal era, it’s a shock to see any meaningful resistance to player movement. On Tuesday, the Durham County Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order to “ensure (Mensah) does not violate his contract,” as Duke’s athletic department put it in a statement issued Wednesday.
Further details of the TRO reveal just how firm this language is as the school officially entered Mensah into the Transfer Portal. The quarterback submitted his paperwork to enter the portal on Friday, the final day of college football’s lone portal window.
As David McKenzie, an intellectual property lawyer and Duke alum, explained on social media, “The court enjoined Mensah from enrolling anywhere, playing anywhere, and licensing his NIL anywhere.” And that “Duke holds exclusive rights to his NIL through December 31, 2026.”
An injunction hearing is scheduled for February 2 in Durham County, North Carolina, in front of Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson. Darren Heitner, a prominent NIL attorney who is representing Mensah, has indicated that he would like to have the hearing moved to an earlier date.
So, where does this leave Miami? For now, without a quarterback.
Temporary restraining order to prevent Darian Mensah from enrolling or competing for another school
Mario Cristobal has rolled the dice on veteran transfers each of the last two offseasons and hit big. Miami managed to pry both out of the NFL Draft to spend their final season of eligibility in Coral Gables. Cristobal, however, failed to replicate that formula this year despite offering former Alabama QB Ty Simpson $6.5 million to withdraw from the draft and enter the transfer portal.
With Simpson leaving for the NFL and Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt choosing Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers over Miami, the Hurricanes were essentially out of options. Cristobal has largely neglected recruiting high school quarterbacks, at least at a high level, preferring to pay a premium for the certainty a veteran provides. So, he turned to Mensah, who is attempting to break his contract with Manny Diaz’s Blue Devils to join the Hurricanes.
To make matters worse, Emory Williams, Carson Beck’s backup in 2025, entered the Transfer Portal following the National Championship Game on Monday, with the expectation that Mensah was arriving to grab the starting job and landed at East Carolina.
Emory Williams has signed with East Carolina, per an ESPN source. https://t.co/9jWa4ShckO
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 21, 2026
There is no viable backup plan if Mensah cannot transfer
Cristobal has made a bet that he can address the quarterback position through the transfer portal every year. It’s netted him Cam Ward, who became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Carson Beck, who led his team to the title game. It’s been a successful strategy, but one that carries quite a bit of risk. If the court holds firm, and Mensah is not allowed to play in 2026, Cristobal’s high-risk, high-reward philosophy will have burned him for the first time and likely sets up the Hurricanes for a lost season.
Miami is already shedding a ton of veteran talent into the NFL, losing Beck, four of its five offensive line starters, two of its three starting wide receivers, Rueben Bain Jr., Akheem Mesidor, both of its starting linebackers, and more. Even with Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher Jr. likely returning, and Cristobal’s stockpile of talent from elite recruiting classes, that’s a largely unproven roster, and without a high-level quarterback to elevate it, competing for an ACC Title will be difficult, let alone a national championship.
There is still a chance that the court ruling gets overturned and Miami locks in Mensah for 2026. In which case, The U should be the favorite to win the ACC. But betting your season on winning a lawsuit against Duke isn’t a particularly comforting place to be.