To paint it as simply as possible, the latest ruling on Darian Mensah being able to transfer from Duke to Miami could not have gotten any worse for the Canes. As of Wednesday afternoon, Duke is filing a temporary restraining order (TRO), meaning "Mensah cannot enroll at another school, play football at another school, or license his NIL to another school." This is not final, but it is not looking good at all...
ESPN's Pete Thamel relayed the ruling from Duke on Mensah trying to transfer to Miami this winter.
Here's the wording of Duke's TRO ruling. Essentially, Mensah cannot enroll at another school, play football at another school or license his NIL to another school. https://t.co/vgJERcHU0A pic.twitter.com/zJjU74sqs8
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 21, 2026
This seems to follow a similar situation that surrounded Washington Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr. signing a new NIL deal, and then trying to hit the portal some four days later. He returned to school in Seattle, and it seems to be water under the bridge. Again, that may not be the case for Mensah in Durham, but the NCAA is trying to establish precedent in the wonderful world of NIL here...
So if Miami needed a backup plan, the Hurricanes may need to turn its attention to someone like Parker Navarro out of Ohio U. However, he too is dealing with his own legal situation. Thamel's ESPN colleague Max Olson reported on it earlier this month that Navarro has entered the transfer portal and is trying to get a seventh year of eligibility. He played at Ohio from 2022-25 and UCF in 2020-21.
Right now, Navarro has not been granted a seventh year and hopes the NCAA reconsiders his waiver.
Ohio QB Parker Navarro has entered the transfer portal, ESPN has learned.
— Max Olson (@max_olson) January 16, 2026
Navarro, who’s repped by @simon_pflum, hasn’t been approved for a 7th season of eligibility yet and requested the NCAA reconsider his waiver. https://t.co/ls2IfkhMOY
This is all becoming such a mess, enough to the point that it might cost Miami dearly next season...
Miami is between a rock and a hard place with Darian Mensah situation
With Carson Beck turning pro, and his backup in Emory Williams just committing to East Carolina, Miami needs to figure out something fast under center. Per Ourlads, the only quarterbacks still on Miami's roster are Luke Nickel and Judd Anderson. While both were former four-star prospects out of high school, Nickel was only a true freshman last year, while Anderson was only a redshirt freshman.
Again, what we have to understand that this is not finality. The other interesting wrinkle in all this is the judge supposedly making a ruling on this is a Duke alum... Of course, the judge is... Anywho, Miami has earned the benefit of the doubt after last year's run to the national championship game to suffer a major pullback of a season. We saw Tennessee pull back this past year after losing Nico Iamaleava.
In the end, hopefully, something good comes from this. Miami may get screwed over here, but we have to be optimistic somebody will throw them a bone and they will land somebody substantail. While living by the portal means you can also die by the portal, there may be some guardrails put in by the NCAA or whomever to make sure a team that goes on a national title run does not get railroaded.
Mensah may have wanted to transfer to Miami, but there is a chance Miami comes up empty-handed.