Darian Mensah arrives in Miami with the kind of profile that can turn preseason hype into something much bigger. The new Hurricanes quarterback is already being talked about as a Heisman Trophy contender, and the setup around him explains why.
Mensah is coming off a career season at Duke and, at 21, has a chance to raise the bar again in Coral Gables. On3’s J.D. Pickell went so far as to project him as the winner of college football’s top individual honor, picking him over Oregon’s Dante Moore, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, and Georgia’s Gunner Stockton.
That would put Mensah in rare company for Miami. Only two Hurricanes have ever won the award: Vinny Testaverde in 1986 and Gino Torretta in 1992. If Mensah gets there, he would be the third.
The numbers from his Duke season help explain the buzz. Mensah threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns, both tops in the ACC, while taking 28 sacks. He also helped lead the Blue Devils to their first football title since 1989.
Miami has already seen what a transfer quarterback can do for the program. Cam Ward and Carson Beck both lifted the Hurricanes, with the latter helping push the team to a National Championship appearance. The expectation now is that Mensah can take that formula even further.
He won’t be doing it alone. Miami rebuilt its receiver room around rising star Malachi Toney and added 13 transfers, including Cooper Barkate, who was Mensah’s teammate at Duke and his most targeted playmaker there.
Barkate finished last season with 72 catches for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns. He and Toney are the only ACC receivers to top 1,100 yards, and now they’re on the same roster.
The group around Mensah also includes Joshua Moore, South Carolina transfer Vandrevius Jacobs, Daylyn Upshaw, and West Virginia transfer Cam Vaughn.
The backfield gives Miami another layer of stability. The Hurricanes brought back their entire supporting cast from last season, including Mark Fletcher Jr., so Mensah should have a variety of options behind him.
The biggest question mark sits up front. Miami lost four starters on the offensive line, and that’s never a small thing to replace.
Still, Mario Cristobal believes the answer is already in the building. Veterans Samson Okunlola, Ryan Rodriguez, and Matthew McCoy are expected to be key pieces, while freshman five-star recruit Jackson Cantwell is projected to start at left tackle.
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