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While the Miami Hurricanes made it to their first national championship game since 2023, it was the Duke Blue Devils, not the ‘Canes, who captured the 2025 ACC championship.
Now, those same Blue Devils could more or less put an end to Miami’s 2026 national championship hopes before they even begin.
Michael McCann of Sportico reports that Duke is suing for breach of contract in order to prevent quarterback Darian Mensah from entering the transfer portal.
Mensah, who was the highest-paid player in college football in 2025 after transferring in from Tulane, stated his intent to re-enter the portal on Friday, with the overwhelming belief that he would end up in Coral Gables.
However, now that may not happen.
Duke Tries To Shut Down Darian Mensah’s Rumored Transfer To Miami
In the suit, which was filed in the state of North Carolina, Duke alleges that Mensah’s transfer would not only breach the contract he signed with the university, but also cause irreparable harm to the school moving forward.
“In July 2025 Mensah signed a multi-year contract with Duke University that ends on December 31, 2026, and which provides Duke a number of rights, including exclusive rights throughout the term to Mensah’s name, image and likeness (“NIL) with respect to higher education and football,” the suit reads. “Duke University has met all of its obligations under that contract. As recently as December 2025, Mensah affirmed his commitment to Duke University. Then, a few hours before the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) deadline for student-athletes in football to initiate notification of transfer (Colloquially, entering the ‘transfer portal), Mensah reversed …”
So, why is this an issue for the Hurricanes?
Well, for the last two seasons, Miami has spent big in order to have star quarterbacks Cam Ward, who transferred from Washington State, and Carson Beck, from Georgia, lead its football team.
Ward helped the ‘Canes to a 10-2 record in 2024 before opting out of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, while Beck, of course, led Miami to the national championship game, where it fell to Indiana on Monday night.
However, there doesn’t seem to be an heir apparent for 2026, with Beck having exhausted his eligibility and heading to the NFL.
Backup quarterback Emory Williams entered the transfer portal on Monday and appears bound for East Carolina, and the next man up would either be redshirt freshman Luke Nickel, redshirt sophomore Judd Anderson, or true freshman Dereon Coleman.
Now, maybe one of those three players takes a step forward and becomes a major contributor for Mario Cristobal and company. Or maybe the ‘Canes find another option in the portal.
But if Duke wins its case and Mensah remains in Durham, Miami’s 2026 season might already be a lost cause.