Darian Mensah doesn’t seem interested in letting the numbers do the talking, even if they’ve been impossible to ignore.
Miami’s quarterback has been on a tear through four games, and the résumé is already loud: 94 completions on 106 attempts, an 88.7 completion percentage that leads the nation, and 14 touchdown passes, also the best mark in the country. He and Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor are the only FBS quarterbacks with at least three touchdown passes in every game this season, and according to CBS, Mensah is the first FBS passer in the last 30 years to have more touchdown passes than incompletions through four games.
That kind of efficiency has turned into the defining feature of Miami’s offense, and it’s the trait that first grabbed the attention of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Shannon Dawson.
“You can tell through the course of his career that he’s a winner. He’s a competitor.
But the biggest thing with him, with me, was [that] I saw a kid that was extremely accurate and that’s what I look for, number one,” Dawson said. “You have to be able to throw the ball accurately from the pocket.
You watch offenses out there that are struggling right now and there’s probably one common denominator and it’s really simple: they can’t throw the ball as accurate as the offensive coordinator or head coach wants them or needs them to. And when you can’t, offensive football is really hard…You have to be able to throw the ball accurately to make defenses play honestly and when you can’t, moving the ball is extremely difficult and that’s the one thing I saw with him that piqued my interest the most.
He’s an extremely accurate thrower and he takes care of the football. Those two things were the two most important [things].”
That accuracy shows up in the little details, the kind of throws teammates remember long after practice ends. Cooper Barkate pointed to a two-minute drill last week when Mensah fired a wheel route to Malachi Toney and then followed it with an out route to Elija Lofton that landed right on target despite tight coverage.
“We did a two-minute drill last week in practice and he threw one to [Malachi Toney] where he was running a wheel route, and I don’t think there could have been a better ball,” Barkate recalled. “And then the next play, he threw an out route to Elija Lofton where he was covered, good coverage.
But the ball still literally hit him right in the chest as he was falling out of bounds. Back-to-back throws there that were just … yeah.
That’s what he’s capable of.
“I don’t want to say I’m numb to it, but we see it in practice every day. That’s who he is.”
Barkate also said playing with Mensah changes the way receivers approach every snap.
“I love playing with him because one, if you’re open, you know you’re getting the ball. You can run your route and if you know you’re going to be open, the ball’s already going to be there.
And also, if you’re covered, you’re not going to have to worry about getting the ball thrown to you because he’s not going to throw it to you. The last game, when I had my touchdown, that thing was right in the middle of my facemask…it’s just perfect every time.
I’ve always said he has a perfect arc on his ball … It’s a very catchable, easy ball where he can put some dip on it if he needs to. It’s just a very catchable ball.”
Mensah has noticed the production, but not in the way fans might expect. He said he didn’t even realize he had broken records at Wake Forest until someone told him after the game. What he does care about is placing the ball where his teammates can do the rest, something he credits to film study, work on the field and the talent around him.
“It’s reps, film study, protection, good playmakers. It’s just a mix of everything,” Mensah said.
“And like I’ve been saying since I got here, I think this is the perfect storm for me. It’s why I came here, because all around, I’ve got good playmakers and a great o-line as well.
So, it’s a mix of everything.”
Miami has certainly benefited from the fit. The fourth-ranked Hurricanes are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, and they head into Saturday’s primetime, nationally televised matchup at Clemson with the nation’s top offense, averaging 588.8 yards per game. Miami has outscored opponents 207-36, and Toney has already gone over 500 receiving yards on the season.
The quarterback’s work has even sharpened the defense in practice, according to Bryce Fitzgerald.
“You have to play perfect coverage against him, or it’s going to get ugly,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s hard to stop him. It’s great when you’re on a team with him, but in practice, you better be ready to practice hard because he’s good.”
For Mensah, though, the focus stays fixed on the outcome, not the stat sheet. He said he tries not to get caught up in the numbers because a great line can still come in a loss.
“I try not to get infatuated with numbers because when you play a game, the numbers can look great, but you can still lose or you can still feel like you played a bad game,” Mensah said. “So, I try not to look at numbers. Obviously, the goal when you’re playing is to win and I really just base everything off that…
“I’m ultra excited for Saturday. It’s absolutely the stuff that I live for, to be in those types of environments and to be in those types of games. I worked my entire life for moments like these and I can’t wait to go show it.”
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