The Hurricanes turned Cam Ward into a No. 1 overall pick, got a championship run out of Carson Beck and now have another transfer quarterback being talked about as a possible NFL draft-riser before the season begins.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. had praise for Darian Mensah, pointing to what Louis Riddick saw from him in the spring and what Miami has built around him.
Mensah comes to Coral Gables after starting at Tulane and Duke.
Mel Kiper Jr. early thoughts on Darian Mensah. pic.twitter.com/V5QHUeOVgL
— Grant Reacts (@GrantReacts1) May 5, 2026
Mel Kiper sees Darian Mensah as Miami's next quarterback success
"Louis Riddick told me back in the spring that Darian Mensah was on fire. Lights out, looked very impressive. Darian Mensah can do what C.J. Carr can — he's going to layer the football. He's very accurate. He had a big-time career going at Tulane, did great things at Duke, and is going to do great things at Miami taking it over for Carson Beck because guess what? That offensive line will be rebuilt. He's going to have skill players all over the place like Barkate joining Tony. Mark Fletcher Jr. returns running back after a great year."Mel Kiper Jr.
Mensah started all 14 games for Duke in 2025 and finished with 3,973 passing yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions. He earned second-team All-ACC honors.
Before that, Mensah threw for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions as Tulane's starting quarterback in 2024. That gives him 6,696 passing yards, 56 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions over the past two seasons.
Kiper pointed to Miami's skill talent, mentioning Cooper Barkate, Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher Jr. Barkate followed Mensah from Duke after catching 72 passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025. He has 185 catches, 2,848 yards and 21 touchdowns across 37 career games at Harvard and Duke.
Toney set Miami's single-season record with 109 catches as a true freshman, led the ACC with 1,211 receiving yards and scored 10 receiving touchdowns. He also added 113 rushing yards, 298 punt return yards and two passing touchdowns.
Fletcher ran for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025, added 17 catches for 140 yards and two more scores, and set a College Football Playoff record with 507 rushing yards during Miami's postseason run.
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