New Duke Star Darian Mensah Talks Decision to Leave Tulane Green Wave

The Tulane Green Wave football team experienced the harsh effects of the transfer portal this last offseason.

Starting quarterback Darian Mensah became one of the highest-paid players in college football by transferring to the Duke Blue Devils.

This shocking move occurred on the day the transfer portal opened, leaving the Green Wave with a significant uncertainty at their most crucial position.

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Mensah recently opened up to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports (subscription required) on the reasons why he decided to join the Blue Devils.

“It was very tough to leave my home,” Mensah said. “I was at Tulane for two years, super grateful for that place. It made me who I am today. Definitely not easy to leave all my teammates, those are my guys. But I wanted to play in a competitive conference like the ACC, in the Power Four. And I knew this move would set my family up for financial freedom. Those are some of the things that went into that decision.”

It's hard to ignore the NIL deal in that context, one that Nakos reports will be more than $4 million in his first season at Duke. Mensah downplayed that factor in his decision.

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“Obviously the NIL component was pretty important, but it wasn’t the primary focus,” Mensah said. “The primary focus is to play in the NFL, so I feel like Duke is a place where I can achieve that. During the season, I just let my agent, Noah [Reisenfeld] and Adie [von Gontard], I feel like they did a phenomenal job keeping me focused on what I needed to do during the season. I’m at where I am now, so I’m grateful for them.”

There are players with dreams to play in the Power Four, and Tulane currently can’t offer a path to achieving that goal. But for the NFL dream, Mensah was arguably better off with the Green Wave.

In the past 25 years, Tulane has had three quarterbacks drafted. Patrick Ramsey and JP Losman both went in the first round. Michael Pratt had a stunning fall to the seventh round in 2024.

Before that 25-year period, Shaun King was drafted in the second round in 1999.

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In that same span, the Blue Devils have produced one seventh-rounder along with first-rounder Daniel Jones.

A lot of it will have to do with the NIL deal he received, and that’s perfectly okay. It would have been ill-advised to turn down millions of dollars that the Green Wave ultimately couldn’t match.

Tulane will have a reunion with Mensah on Sept. 13 in the 2025 college football season, and it will be one to watch.

For more Tulane news, head over to Tulane Green Wave On SI.