After Duke football lost starting quarterback Maalik Murphy to the transfer portal after he spent one season with the team, the program found its replacement less than three days later after landing Tulane transfer signal caller Darian Mensah.
Per On3, Mensah is the #20 overall player in the transfer portal and #3 quarterback.
In his redshirt freshman season, Mensah started every game for the Green Wave. He finished the season with 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a 76.5 QBR while completing 65.9% of his passes.
But despite being a highly touted recruit out of the transfer portal, Mensah was not too sought out by high major programs out of high school.
Growing up in San Luis Obispo, California, Mensah was a 3-star recruit coming out of high school. In the 2023 class, On3 had Mensah as the 65th ranked QB and 89th ranked player in California. 247sports listed him as the 112th ranked quarterback and 216th ranked player in California.
Being an under-the-radar prospect out of high school, the only other offer Mensah received other than Tulane was from Idaho State.
He enrolled at Tulane and served as the scout team quarterback during his redshirt freshman season. Although he was eligible in 2024, it was not expected he'd see the field much.
At the start of Tulane's preseason camp, Mensah was listed as the third quarterback on the depth chart. But after exceeding his expectations through the preseason, he moved up and was announced as the starter before the beginning of the season.
Mensah continued to perform in his redshirt freshman campaign, getting the Green Wave out to a 9-2 record and an eight-game win streak after losses in weeks two and three.
He led Tulane to an eventual AP Poll ranking where they entered at #25 in the Week 12 poll. The Green Wave eventually moved all the way up to #18 in the Week 14 poll before dropping out at the season's end.
His best game of the season came against South Florida when he threw for 326 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions on just 22 pass attempts. Mensah completed 18 of them.
Despite losing two straight to end the season, Mensah still led the Green Wave to an AAC Championship game berth and a trip to the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl against the Florida Gators.
What makes the quarterback such a huge get for Manny Diaz and his staff is how well he fits into offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer's scheme with his ability to throw the deep ball.
Brewer runs a quick air-raid scheme and likes to use deep passes to get the ball down the field fast.
Mensah ranked 3rd in the nation in yards per pass at 9.5 and has great accuracy down the field.
He doesn't use his legs a ton, but his ability to run will definitely be an upgrade from what Duke had with Murphy. Murphy ran just 19 times on the season whereas Mensah tallied 60 carries for 132 yards.
Entering his redshirt sophomore season, Mensah has three years of eligibility remaining and will be a gem on this Blue Devil offense for the foreseeable future.