Duke and Miami will both have new quarterbacks next season after the Blue Devils reached a settlement agreement with Darian Mensah that let him out of his contractual obligations with the university. Mensah will now transfer to Miami where he is expected to take Carson Beck's starting quarterback role.
Mensah led Duke to their first-ever ACC championship in football in 2025 as he threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns in an upset win over No. 17 Virginia, which briefly had Duke in the conversation for a College Football Playoff spot, despite their 8-5 record. Instead Duke settled for a 42-39 win over Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.
Meanwhile Miami did get an at-large bid out of the ACC and made it all the way to the CFP title game where they lost to Fernando Mendoza and Indiana.
Mensah originally intended to remain at Duke ahead of their bowl game, but on the final day the transfer portal was open told coach Manny Diaz that he wanted to transfer. Mensah had signed a multiyear contract with Duke in 2024 and the school sought an injunction to make him stay. On Tuesday morning the two sides announced that they had come to an agreement. In a statement from his agency, Duke was thanked for "engaging in good-faith discussions."
#YMAPAA pic.twitter.com/BNlKicWCt0
— YM APAA Sports (@YMAPAAsports) January 27, 2026
Mensah is now expected to sign with Miami where he will be reunited with wide receiver Cooper Barkate. In their one season together at Duke Barkate caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns
Miami will host Duke on Nov. 14.
More College Football on Sports Illustrated
- Diego Pavia's Official Height at Senior Bowl Significantly Shorter Than Vandy Listing
- Sam Ngata, Son of Oregon and Ravens Great Haloti Ngata, Commits to Ducks
- Ohio State to Hire Ex-Steelers OC Arthur Smith As Next Offensive Coordinator
- Dabo Swinney Directly Accuses Ole Miss’s Pete Golding of Tampering in Presser
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Darian Mensah, Duke Reach Settlement That Will Allow QB to Transfer to Miami.
