Duke football quarterback Darian Mensah was one of the most sought-after QBs in the Transfer Portal this past winter, and Manny Diaz made an aggressive run that ultimately landed the former Tulane Green Wave in Durham. Duke signed Mensah to a wild two-year, $8 million NIL deal, which was possibly the biggest NIL contract in the history of college football at the time. Rightfully so, Mensah had some pretty high expectations to meet after that payday. After a long wait, Duke fans finally got to see Mensah in action for the first time, and it didn't disappoint.
Darian Mensah debut was a tale of two halves
Mensah's performance will be graded by each half, considering the offensive flow for Duke couldn't have been any different between the two.
First half grade: C-
Mensah, along with the rest of the offense, didn't look good in any sort through the first 30 minutes of action. Mensah missed several deep shots, there were drops, and there was a fumble in the red zone after Mensah and running back Jaquez Moore couldn't connect on a handoff. In the first half, Mensah completed 16 of his 23 passes (69.5) for 216 yards. It wasn't a disastrous first half in terms of his performance, but there was no rhythm whatsoever for the entirety of the period. Duke entered the locker room tied 10-10 with Elon after coming into the game as 36.5-point favorites. Then, Diaz delivered the perfect halftime speech, and a switch was completely flipped.
Second half grade: A
From the first possession of the second half on, Mensah was lights out. The Blue Devils outscored the Phoenix 35-7 to seal a 45-17 victory, which is a lot closer to what Duke fans were expecting to see for the whole game. In the second 30 minutes, Mensah completed 11-of-11 passes for 173 yards to go along with three touchdowns. He looked much more comfortable in the pocket and found his receivers with a much greater degree of accuracy. Mensah completed his final 14 pass attempts of the game and officially put the nation on notice. Don't be surprised if he enters the Heisman conversation if he can put together another great performance in Duke's marquee home matchup against No. 12 Illinois next weekend.