The Duke football program will be entering the 2026 season as the ACC Champions yet it’s still not enough to keep its star quarterback for another season.
After the Blue Devils inked Darian Mensah to a two-year, $8 million contract last offseason following his departure from Tulane, the team was able to dodge the rumors that Mensah would enter the NFL Draft all to be spurred at the last moment.
Mensah has opted to enter the transfer portal hours before it closes as he seems destined to head to Miami next season.
It’s a situation that’s all too familiar for the Blue Devils.
Two years ago, Mike Elko left Durham for Texas A&M after the Aggies went through its coaching list following denials from a number of candidates, and history has repeated itself.
Miami is looking for a new quarterback after Monday’s National Championship Game as Carson Beck will be out of eligibility. It already tried to sway Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson into the portal after he announced he was declaring for the NFL Draft.
It was noted that the Hurricanes tried to tempt Simpson with a $6.5 million offer and it’s rumored that Mensah, it’s final option, could be getting anywhere between $7 and $10 million.
Since Nina Kina became the athletic director at Duke, the school has made a significant commitment to bolstering its NIL funds outside of men’s basketball, but it never seems to be enough.
It’s a steppingstone program. If you can have success at Duke in football, you can have success anywhere.
Mensah is projected to be one of the top quarterbacks in the 2027 NFL Draft and threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns with Duke this season. In his final game as a Blue Devil in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, he threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns.
Duke will have to pivot quickly at quarterback for next season with very little time and options left.
The Blue Devils will see Darian Mensah next season when Duke travels to Miami.