Darian Mensah's transfer put Manny Diaz in a bind. Not just because he lost his star quarterback who just led Duke to the program's first outright ACC Championship since 1962, but due to the timing of it all. Mensah's decision was made at the last minute, and not the least of which was due to blatant Miami tampering, and all the top signal-callers available in the portal had already found their new homes.
Diaz deserves credit for still being able to find a serviceable veteran after the fact. San Jose State's Walker Eget ultimately transferred to Duke and is in competition with redshirt freshman Dan Mahan to be the starter for the Blue Devils. Eget missed most of the spring with an injury, but he is expected to win the job this fall.
He won't have Mensah's ceiling, most don't, but he provides stability at the position that Duke sorely needed in the aftermath of the stunning transfer.
Walker Eget should keep the floor of Duke's offense relatively high
CBS Sports' David Cobb probably put it best in his tier rankings of quarterbacks heading into the 2026 season:
"Given the 11th-hour timing of quarterback Darian Mensah's transfer to Miami, Duke did well to find a suitable replacement in Eget. He threw for 3,051 yards at San Jose State last season and should help keep the floor high for the reigning ACC champions," Cobb wrote.
Eget will provide a steadying, veteran presence for the Blue Devils. He's got two years of starting experience under his belt, and while the competition will be a significant upgrade from the Mountain West to the ACC, Eget lit up the one ACC team that was on San Jose State's schedule last season.
In a one-point road loss to Stanford in late September, Eget lit up the Cardinal for 473 yards and three touchdowns in the most prolific passing game of his career thus far.
He'll have a lot more help in Durham than he did in San Jose, too.
Duke should have a good offensive line once again, and Eget will be supported by one of the best running backs in the conference. Rising sophomore Nate Sheppard is coming off an 1100 yard season as a freshman and figures to be the focal point of the Duke offense in 2026.
And while Mesah took Cooper Barkate with him to Coral Gables, Duke once again dipped into the Ivy League to land a productive veteran receiver. Penn's Jared Richardson joined the Blue Devils out of the Transfer Portal following a 1000-yard, 12-touchdown season for the Quakers.
Duke also added Charlotte's Javen Nichols in the portal, and he and Richardson will combine with a trio of talented young receivers that the coaching staff is high on to give Eget plenty of weaponry to work with.
With Sheppard in the backfield, Duke's offensive ceiling should be high if Eget can just effectively manage the game and limit the mistakes. If he can piece together more performances like the one he did against Stanford last season, then the Blue Devils might just be a whole lot more dangerous than anyone wants to give them credit for.
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