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Darian Mensah is in the process of leaving the Duke football team. He has entered the transfer portal, with many believing his intended destination to be Miami.
His transfer attempt hit a recent snag due to a contract dispute. The Blue Devils have filed a lawsuit to delay the move.
Mensah has been with the university for just one season. He transferred into Durham ahead of the 2025 campaign after spending two years at Tulane.
In that lone season, he led the team to nine wins and an ACC Championship. He now wants out.
Mensah announced his intention to enter the portal this offseason. Duke is fighting back.
Darian Mensah signed a contract.
That deal was reportedly worth $8 million over a two-year time period. At the time, it made Mensah one of the most highly paid players in college football.
He’d fully been expected to return for 2026.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) January 16, 2026
The market has since changed. Mensah wants a piece of the pie.
This offseason, we’ve seen Sam Leavitt and Brendan Sorsby demand upwards of $5 million to transfer schools. Mensah, too, appears to have a lucrative offer.
The Miami Hurricanes are in need of a quarterback following a run to the national title. Starter Carson Beck is out of eligibility. Mensah is reportedly being targeted as his replacement.
After making transfer intentions public, Duke sued its quarterback. He is now in portal purgatory.
The QB cannot enroll at another school.
For now…
A North Carolina judge denied the university’s attempt at a temporary restraining order, meaning Darian Mensah is fully able to enter the transfer portal.
That judge did, however, sign an order preventing the signal caller from enrolling elsewhere before himself from the case.
Mensah cannot enroll, play, or license NIL with another school until at least February 2nd when another judge will hear the case.
That delay made the situation all the messier.
Miami is on the semester schedule when it comes to academic calendar. They started class on January 12th. The last day to enroll is likely this week.
As currently laid out, Mensah’s hearing is a week and a half later. He is now filing an emergency motion for reconsideration.
In that request, he cites “deadlines at other collegiate institutions who have indicated to me their interest in my enrollment will expire on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.”
It goes onto say, “I understand that if I miss the enrollment deadlines at other collegiate institutions then I could be permanently foreclosed from the opportunity to do so.”
Mensah needs the date move up in order to enroll at Miami. The school has threatened to drop the quarterback if unable to meet the deadline, though the football program would likely do anything in its power to force an exception.
A similar situation is playing out in LSU’s recruitment of Jordan Seaton. The timing of the transfer portal window aligns with the changing of semesters.
Mensah is stuck in the transfer portal with an inability to sign with a new school. If he can’t enroll at Miami, he could have no other option but to honor his commitment to Duke.