Miami, Mario Cristobal now 1 step closer to making late QB dream a reality

Darian Mensah has officially made the decision to enter the transfer portal, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel and On3/Rivals Pete Nakos. The Duke quarterback was rumored to be considering the move and had until the midnight deadline.

Mensah, who threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns this past season, will be immediately linked to the Hurricanes. Miami has been searching for a top-end quarterback through the transfer portal and remain one of the last top teams that has yet to secure a player at that position. 

Expect Miami to act quickly on Mensah

With the Hurricanes in final preparation for Monday's CFP Championship Game against Indiana, it's likely that Mario Cristobal will let the front office handle business with Mensah. It wouldn't be surprising to see an announcement made over the weekend or before the game Monday. There could be some language in Mensah's contract with Duke that Miami will have to work through, but it shouldn't deter the Hurricanes from pursuing him.

Miami has struck gold in the quarterback transfer market over the past two seasons. The Hurricanes signed Cam Ward in 2024, and he led them to a 10-3 record while becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist. Miami returned to the portal to sign Carson Beck and the former Georgia quarterback has been a major reason the Hurricanes are playing in a championship game for the first time in 23 years. 

Cristobal never stopped swinging big

Despite the success that Miami has had with transfer quarterbacks, Cristobal and staff could not get a deal done with Brendan Sorsby before he signed with Texas Tech and hosted Sam Leavitt, but the former Arizona State star decided to sign with LSU. Miami also reportedly made a $6.5 million offer to Ty Simpson, that the former Alabama quarterback rejected to enter the 2026 NFL Draft. 

But Miami has remained aggressive in their intentions on landing a big-time quarterback to continue the recent ascension of the program and landing Mensah, a second-team All-ACC performer, would vault the Hurricanes to the top of the ACC and make them one of the teams to beat in college football next season.

Mensah started his college career at Tulane and threw for over 2,700 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Green Wave as a redshirt freshman in 2024. He transferred to Duke to play for former Hurricanes coach  Manny Diaz and helped the Blue Devils capture their first outright conference championship since 1962 and was the MVP of the Sun Bowl win over Arizona State. Mensah will enter next season as one of the top quarterbacks in a stacked group at the position.

And if Mensah ends up with Miami, the Hurricanes will surely be the early favorite to win the ACC and among the top choices to win the CFP.