Duke HC Manny Diaz is thankful for time with Darian Mensah

Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz. Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Duke HC Manny Diaz is thankful for time with Darian Mensah

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated May 13, 2026 8:20 PM ET

Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz could be mad. In fact, he'd be well within his rights to be a little ticked off.

His quarterback last season, Darian Mensah, had made a commitment to come back for the 2026 season with the Blue Devils. A month later, he went back on that commitment and instead hit the transfer portal.

Mensah is now expected to be the starting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes next season.

It wasn't a good situation. Heck, the Blue Devils tried to sue to keep Mensah out of the transfer portal.

Ultimately, the star quarterback was able to leave Durham, North Carolina, though. In a recent interview with Andy Staples of On3, Diaz revealed he has no animosity towards Mensah for the way things played out.

“You know, my overriding emotion is gratitude,” Diaz said. “I really mean that. I am thankful that Darian Mensah came to Duke. I’m grateful that we were able to win the ACC together. We had a great relationship together. Your mindset from that very first day is ‘we’re not going to be a victim‘. We won the championship. That banner will hang in that stadium forever. Now, we find a new way to win again.”

NEW: Manny Diaz to @AndyStaples on handling QB Darian Mensah transferring to Miami:

"My overriding emotion is gratitude, and I really mean that. I am thankful Darian Mensah came to Duke."

Diaz later added: "It's happened before and the best franchises respond. We talked to our… pic.twitter.com/oUhFwgdxUH
— On3 (@On3) May 13, 2026

That's the type of spin a head coach has to put on this type of situation. With that said, the reality is that this was a big loss for Duke.

Duke Blue Devils will push forward without Darian Mensah

Mensah will go down as one of the best players in Duke football history, and he was only with the Blue Devils for one season.

He threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns. He helped lead Duke to its first ACC championship since 1989.

If Diaz and Duke want to continue being a contender in the ACC, and even nationally, moving forward, they'll need to develop a "next man up" attitude.

Good players will come to Duke, and good players will leave. Per Diaz, it's all about finding a way to win.

“We won very differently in 2025 than we did in 2024. We have different strengths in our team now in 2026, and our responsibility is to find a way to win in 2026,” Diaz explained. “There have been stories in pro sports where the top players left through free agency. It’s happened before. The best franchises respond. We talked to our team about when Kevin Durant left the Thunder. You can argue that in the dozen years since then, they are now the best NBA franchise ever. There’s always a way forward, and my responsibility is to make sure everyone in the program knows what that is.”

The way forward for Duke will be sans Mensah, but there still is a way forward.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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