The countdown is on for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and the Miami football program is realizing that its future at quarterback could be bleak.
The Hurricanes have not landed an impact quarterback out of the transfer portal despite its best efforts to replace Carson Beck with reportedly offering Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson $6.5 million to enter the portal in lieu of the NFL Draft and now it’s focusing on Duke’s Darian Mensah.
Mensah signed a two-year, $8 million deal last offseason with the Blue Devils after transferring from Tulane and was one of the most prolific passers in the country this season with 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns, leading Duke to the ACC Championship.
Shortly before the Blue Devils were set to take the field against Arizona State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, it was reported that he would return to the program after flirting with the NFL Draft.
However, his future in Durham is cloudy yet again.
Unconfirmed reports say that Miami is willing to pay him $7 million to enter the portal and join the Hurricanes ahead of the deadline to enter the transfer portal at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 16.
Duke was expected to return its dynamic trio on offense with Mensah, running back Nate Sheppard, and wide receiver Cooper Barkate – who totaled 6,211 combined yards this season.
Given that the Blue Devils were under the expectation that Darian Mensah would play for the team in 2026, there has been no contact with any transfer portal quarterbacks.
Henry Belin IV, the backup from last year’s team who only attempted five passes during the year, entered the portal and committed to Missouri State on Thursday.
Duke might have to come up with more money to try and stop Miami from poaching its superstar quarterback at the portal deadline.