ESPN released its newest rankings of every Power 4 quarterback in the nation, and Duke football QB Darian Mensah was completely disrespected on the list. Despite a rough first few games plagued by turnovers and mistakes, the Tulane transfer has been elite for the Blue Devils over his last couple of contests. Duke has picked up two straight wins to get out to a 2-0 start in conference play, outscoring its past two opponents 83-36. Now 3-2 overall and 2-0 in ACC action, the Blue Devils look to continue riding the momentum as they will stay on the road to face off against California this week. It looks like Mensah still has work to do to prove he's one of the top signal callers the nation has to offer.
Darian Mensah disrespected by ESPN's new QB rankings
In ESPN's newest quarterback rankings of every Power 4 player at the position, Mensah was ranked at No. 22, way too low for how well he's been playing as of late. That puts him as the fourth-best QB in the ACC, behind Virginia's Chandler Morris (13th), Florida State's Tommy Castellanos (16th), and Miami's Carson Beck (18th). Even though the Blue Devils have had their struggles to begin the 2025 campaign, Mensah has a legitimate case to be called the best quarterback in the ACC so far.
The redshirt sophomore has completed 69.1% of his passes for 1,573 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and two interceptions. He currently ranks third in the nation in passing yards, while leading all ACC quarterbacks in passing touchdowns.
After a 1-2 start to the season, it looked like Duke's College Football Playoff chances were done. However, with how open the ACC now looks with Clemson's disastrous start, the Blue Devils are right back in the mix and have legitimate hope to bring the first ACC Championship to Durham since 1989.
Over his last two turnover-free games, Mensah has proven that he was worth the monster two-year, $7.5 million deal that Duke gave him when he came over from Tulane. However, the media doesn't seem to be buying it, and he'll have to keep up his elite play to earn the respect he deserves.