After having success at the quarterback position over the last two years with Cam Ward and Carson Beck, the Miami Hurricanes hope to keep the momentum going with Darian Mensah.
After a successful run with the Duke Blue Devils last year as their starting quarterback, Mensah is on to the next chapter of his football career with the Hurricanes. He has some major shoes to fill, with Ward and Beck having a combined 23-6 record over the last two seasons, with Beck leading the Hurricanes to the national title last year, but losing to the Indiana Hoosiers.
Expectations will remain sky-high for Miami regardless of who starts at quarterback, meaning Mensah needs to keep it going. This is what he wanted, though, when he decided to transfer to the school via the transfer portal.
Darian Mensah Reveals Why He Picked Miami Over Other Schools
GettyFormer Duke quarterback Darian Mensah.
On the first day of ACC Media Day, Mensah was among the first to take the podium and answered a question about the factors in playing for Miami. Seeing Ward and Beck succeed convinced him that this was the right move for him.
“That was a huge factor, deciding to transfer, seeing what those guys did. My OC (Shannon) Dawson will form the offense around the quarterback, around the stuff he likes to do. That also made it something I wanted to be a part of.”
Ward and Beck have enjoyed success at Miami, leading to being drafted into the NFL. In the 2025 NFL Draft, Ward was the number one overall pick to the Tennessee Titans, and this past draft, Beck was selected in the third round by the Arizona Cardinals.
Mensah showed last year that he’s got a chance to follow in their footsteps the right way. As a Blue Devil, he completed 66.8% of his passes for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns to six interceptions.
He led Duke to a 9-5 record and appeared in and won the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Blue Devils won the ACC Championship Game over the Virginia Cavaliers, but the Hurricanes were picked over them for the College Football Playoffs.
Miami Hurricanes Will Be Led By Darian Mensah in 2026 Season
GettyMiami Hurricanes QB Darian Mensah playing with Duke
Entering 2026, the pressure is on the Hurricanes to build on last season and get back into the national title picture, with the results needing to be different. Miami certainly did a lot of work in the offseason to keep the roster where it needs to be to make that happen.
Mensah’s arrival was arguably the biggest move by the Hurricanes, but allowing him to bring in his number-one receiver, Cooper Barkate, from Duke last year was also critical to keeping the passing game rolling. After the losses of Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor to the NFL, Damon Wilson II transferring from Missouri should help the Hurricanes’ pass rush not miss a beat.
The Hurricanes open the season by flying across the country to play the Stanford Cardinal with an 8:00 pm CST kickoff on ESPN.
Darian Mensah Directly Shared Why He Transferred to Miami