Athlon Sports recently released its preseason All-ACC teams, and Duke football quarterback Darian Mensah was shockingly left off of the list. 11 different Blue Devils made a team, with 12 total selections from the program, but Mensah was nowhere to be seen.
The majority of the selections out of the Duke program came on the defensive side of the ball. Still, several offensive skill position players made the cut, such as running back Jaquez Moore and wide receiver Que'Sean Brown, who made the team as both a wide receiver and a punt returner.
Athlon released four offensive and defensive teams, so it seems a bit shocking that Mensah didn't slide in anywhere.
The quarterbacks who made an All-ACC team over Mensah were Clemson's Cade Klubnik (First-Team), Miami's Carson Beck (Second-Team), SMU's Kevin Jennings (Third-Team), and Georgia Tech's Haynes King (Fourth-Team).
Mensah, the rising redshirt sophomore, isn't just a regular name who will be under center for Duke in 2025, as the former Tulane product was one of the top-ranked signal callers out of the transfer portal. On3 ranked Mensah as the No. 32 overall transfer and No. 16 QB in the portal per the Transfer Portal Industry Rankings.
Throughout the offseason, Mensah has made several lists, securing his status among the top quarterbacks heading into the 2025 campaign. ESPN released its top 15 quarterbacks in college football next season, and Mensah made the list at No. 15. However, King, Klubnik, Beck, and Jennings were all listed ahead of Mensah here as well.
Duke invested quite a bit into the program's next quarterback, securing Mensah on a two-year, $8 million NIL deal once he hit the portal.
As is the case for most elite programs, the ceiling of where Duke can go in 2025 revolves around how Mensah produces. Coming off of the fourth nine-win or better season in program history, the Blue Devils have legitimate aspirations to compete for their first ACC Championship since 1989 and fight for a College Football Playoff spot.
Mensah will have a chance to go head-to-head with some of the quarterbacks ranked ahead of him on these lists, as Duke will host Georgia Tech and face Clemson on the road. After Mensah is set behind these other veteran QBs in the rankings throughout the preseason, he'll have a chance to establish himself as one of the nation's top signal callers with several marquee matchups throughout his redshirt sophomore season.