Sports

Tulane Football Can Blame Lil Wayne And Anheuser-Busch For Star QB’s Departure

#College Football
by Last Updated
Lil Wayne pictured beside Tulane QB Darian Mensah.

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Rap superstar Lil Wayne played a major role in one college football star’s departure from New Orleans. Anheuser-Busch did, too!

Tulane QB Darian Mensah hopped in the transfer portal on Sunday following a productive freshman season with the Green Wave. He’s since committed to play for the Duke Blue Devils in the 2025 campaign.

Mensah is represented by Young Money APAA Sports, which was co-founded by Lil Wayne and Adie von Gontard, a sports agent whose grandfather once owned the St. Louis Cardinals and whose great-grandfather founded that aforementioned beer company.

Together, they formed YMAPAA in 2019 with each looking to continue advancing in player representation. The current client list includes NFL players Jalen Hurts and Quinnen Williams. They’ve taken the dive into college football following the introduction of NIL.

Judging by social media history, Mensah signed on with the agency this past October.

In Year 1 as the Tulane starter, Mensah threw for over 2,700 yards and 22 touchdowns. He led the Green Wave to nine wins and an AAC Championship Game appearance.

Head coach Jon Sumrall had hoped to build on that success in the coming season, and Mensah was a big part of the puzzle. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case!

Sumrall wasn’t surprised when he saw his star quarterback enter the portal. He says the agents are to blame!

“There’s nothing that surprises me anymore,” he said after learning of Mensah’s decision. “As soon as agents get involved, all bets are off the table.”

Mensah entered the transfer portal on Sunday. He immediately became the top player in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. On Wednesday, he committed to a new program.

Darian Mensah visited Duke on Tuesday.

He immediately took in the sights and sounds of Durham, stopping into Cameron Indoor to check out a Blue Devils basketball game. The passer was given the opportunity to join the Cameron Crazies while rooting on the team!

That experience was enough to push Duke to the top. He pulled the trigger on Wednesday morning with a commitment.

He’ll fill the place of Maalik Murphy, who transferred out of the program after one season. Last year, Murphy led the team to a 9-3 record with wins over UNC, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. Head coach Manny Diaz hopes Mensah can continue the production!

As for Tulane, they’ll now be left to fill a void under center with their young quarterback’s departure. They have Lil Wayne and Anheuser-Busch to blame. We’ll see what direction Jon Sumrall goes in terms of finding his next starting passer.