Darian Mensah. Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Miami may have its QB target for next season

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jan 16, 2026 5:12 PM ET

The Miami Hurricanes have yet to finish off their 2025 season, but the program appears to have an eye on 2026 already.

The Hurricanes were quickly linked to quarterback Darian Mensah in the transfer portal on Friday after Mensah decided to leave Duke.

Matt Zenitz, Brandon Marcello, and Chris Hummer of CBS Sports reported that Miami is viewed as a “team to watch” now that Mensah is available.

Mensah left the Blue Devils hanging on Friday by entering the portal just hours before it closed at the end of the day Friday. It leaves Duke without an obvious replacement for a quarterback they paid $4 million for last season. One would imagine he will get a lot more than that in the portal this time around.

From @mzenitz, @bmarcello and me:

Sources consider Miami to be an early team to watch as a potential landing spot for Duke star QB Darian Mensah, who just informed the Duke staff he plans to enter the transfer portalhttps://t.co/o0T5TntyVS pic.twitter.com/h2hy8BOBor
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 16, 2026

The Hurricanes have been very aggressive in trying to find a quarterback in the portal, as evidenced by a recent eye-popping offer they made to Ty Simpson. They will lose Carson Beck to graduation at the end of this season, and they paid him the same figure Duke gave Mensah last year.

Mensah established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the country this season. He threw for 3,973 passing yards and 34 touchdowns for Duke, and was an All-ACC selection.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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