The excitement over Miami landing quarterback Darian Mensah isn't going away anytime soon. For the third consecutive season, Mario Cristobal is bringing in a high-profile transfer to run his offense. How will Mansah do compared to Cam Ward and Carson Beck?
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Expectations are through the roof for the signal-caller, but not many people have doubts that he's going to live up to the hype. The long list there includes the one and only Bill Belichick? That appears to be the case, as reporter Barry Jackson provide quite the eye-opening quote from Belichick describing Mensah's game from the 2025 season:
Belichick says Mensah reminds him of an NFL quarterback: "The closer you look, the more impressive he is to me." https://t.co/H8eUT1YUqh
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) January 28, 2026
Bill Belichick is clearly a big fan of new Miami starting quarterback Darian Mensah
When someone like Belichick, who has no business not being a first-ballot Hall of Famer, hypes up Mensah like this, it's of course great news, even if that quote is from the fall. Mensah was fantastic with Duke, helping the Blue Devils win the ACC title in '25.
Now, he's going to make the move to Coral Gables and he's going to have some pretty incredible talent around him. Malachi Toney is without question one of the top receivers in the country and he's going to be ready to ball out catching the ball from Mensah in 2026.
In more good news for Mensah and Miami, former Duke wideout Cooper Barkate has also signed with the Canes. The two showcased fantastic chemistry while playing together in Durham and more of the same will be on the way. Last year, Barkate hauled in 72 balls for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns.
Mensah tossed for an eye-opening 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns, while keeping the turnovers low with only six interceptions. He's a gamer and Miami fans are already thinking about him leading the Canes back to the College Football Playoff next winter.
Obviously, Mensah has some pretty big shoes to fill, as Beck helped power Miami all the way to the National Championship Game. It feels like Miami is built to potentially play for the natty once again next year. If Mensah helps the Canes reach that goal, it seems like Belichick won't be surprised in the slightest.