One of the biggest moves of the college football offseason was Darian Mensah‘s surprise transfer from Duke to Miami.

Mensah decided to make the move to South Beach following a stellar sophomore campaign in Durham, in which he led the Blue Devils to their first ACC Championship since 1989. The San Luis Obispo, Cali. native earned Second Team All-ACC honors after passing for 3,973 yards (2nd most in FBS) and 34 touchdowns (T-2nd most in FBS) with just six interceptions.

The rising junior follows in the footsteps of Cam Ward and Carson Beck at Miami. Both quarterbacks experienced grand success in their lone seasons with the program, and find themselves on NFL rosters heading into the 2026 season. At ACC Media Days on Wednesday, Mensah credited the two quarterbacks, and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, for factoring into his transfer.

“That was a huge factor, deciding to transfer, seeing what those guys did,” Mensah said. “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. It was one of the two most important factors as far as transferring goes, just seeing what Dawson’s done with those two quarterbacks, it’s special.”

Darian Mensah has big shoes to fill at quarterback position at Miami

With Ward and Beck leading the program over the past two seasons, Miami has experienced vast success. Over that span, the Hurricanes have compiled a 23-6 (12-4) record and advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last season. Cam Ward was named a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2024 and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Carson Beck earned Third Team All-ACC honors and evolved into a Third Round pick.

This season, Miami pairs Mensah with superstar wide receiver Malachi Toney. Along with boasting the reigning NCAA receptions leader (did so as a freshman), the Hurricanes also brought in former Duke receiver Cooper Barkate through the Portal. Barkate, who was paired with Mensah last season, was named Second Team All-ACC. With the Hurricanes’ offense looking like one of the best in the country, expectations are sky high for Mario Cristobal‘s program.

“We were in the market for a quarterback. We felt the team was really set in so many areas. When Darian hit the portal, we felt this is a guy we would love to pursue,” Cristobal said at Media Days. “Watching crossover tape with so many opponents we faced, we saw his level of talent and play.

“What really took us by surprise in a great way is what an incredible young man he is. His levels of leadership, care factor, time invested in his craft, football IQ, just natural human IQ, just an elite person along with the guys beside him.”

Miami begins, what it hopes will be, its march back to the National Championship Game on Sept. 4 against Stanford.