Darian Mensah throws hail mary with emergency motion for reconsideration on TRO

Just two days ago, the presiding court in the legal battle between the Duke Blue Devils and former quarterback Darian Mensah put a temporary restraining order (TRO) in place, barring Mensah from enrolling in another University, suiting up for another team, and making NIL money apart from his current deal with Duke.

Now, Mensah has filed an emergency motion for reconsideration on the TRO and has clearly and specifically outlined his reasoning.

Darian Mensah's reasoning behind TRO reconsideration

Simply put, Mensah (while being legally barred from reaching out to other programs and schools directly) had an agent communicate with the "collegiate institutions who have indicated to [Mensah] their interest in [his] enrollment and playing football."

Apparently, according to Mensah's emergency motion filing, his agents learned (and relayed to him) that those universities and athletic departments have set a deadline on his commitment and enrollment.

"After the hearing, I learned for the first time that enrollment deadlines at other collegiate institutions who have indicated to me their interest in my enrollment will expire on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026," Mensah wrote in the appeal.

He went on to say that, to his understanding, if he fails to meet the deadline set by those "other collegiate institutions" (A.K.A. the Miami Hurricanes), he will never be able to enroll in their programs, despite numerous college athletes having the ability to do so past this said Jan. 23 deadline.

At the end of the day, this could be a deadline that teams like Miami have fabricated and set in place solely for Mensah to be able to leave Duke and sign with them.

No matter what, it's a last-ditch effort for Mensah to overturn the TRO put in place, and continue down his path of leaving the Blue Devils for the Hurricanes.