Miami’s offense is drawing national notice before fall camp even opens, with quarterback Darian Mensah, wide receiver Malachi Toney, and running back Mark Fletcher Jr. all landing on the 2026 Maxwell Award Watch List on Monday.
The Maxwell Award has honored college football’s most outstanding player every year since 1937, and the Hurricanes placed three names among the 80 players selected. That kind of presence says plenty about where Miami’s skill talent stands heading into the 2026 season.
Mensah arrives after a huge 2025 campaign at Duke, where he paced the Atlantic Coast Conference with 3,973 passing yards and 34 touchdowns. He also guided the Blue Devils to their first ACC football title since 1989. Now at “The U,” he steps into an offense loaded with weapons and is positioned for another leap.
Toney put together one of the most electric freshman seasons in the country. He led the nation with 109 receptions, finished with 1,211 receiving yards, and totaled 13 touchdowns overall - 10 through the air, one on the ground, and two as a passer. That production has already made him one of college football’s most dangerous playmakers.
Fletcher Jr. made his mark in the College Football Playoffs, ripping off 75 carries for 507 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scores came in the National Championship game against Indiana, part of a record-setting stretch. The Fort Lauderdale native had the chance to enter the NFL Draft, but chose to return for his senior season.
What links the trio goes beyond production. Miami sees leadership in all three, and that matters as the Hurricanes try to build on a historic postseason run. The standard is higher now, and it begins with a goal the program has never reached since joining the ACC in 2004: winning the league.
Mensah’s background, plus the presence of former Duke teammate and wide receiver Cooper Barkate, gives Miami more experience in the passing game. A conference title would bring an automatic College Football Playoff bid and could even set the Hurricanes up for a first-round bye.
Fletcher Jr. and Toney stand as two of the team’s top returners, and if Miami lives up to the buzz around it, the individual hardware should follow.
The Maxwell Award will announce its semifinalists on Nov. 10, then trim the field to three finalists on Nov. 24 before naming the winner on Dec. 10 during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Award Show. Mensah, Toney, and Fletcher Jr. are also expected to factor into the Heisman Trophy conversation.
With fall camp set to open on Tuesday, Miami enters the season with serious firepower on both sides of the ball and championship expectations already in place.
In Other News...
Miami Just Took A Painful Pass Rush Hit At The Worst Time
Fall camp was supposed to be the first real checkpoint for Miamis pass rush rotation, but the Hurricanes opened it with a pair of roster losses that change the conversation up front. Mario Cristobal confirmed that former five-star signee Hayden Lowe and Jontavius Wyman are no longer with the football program, while tight end Luka Gilbert is also out for the season with an injury.
Lowes exit is especially notable because Miami had invested heavily in his edge-rushing upside, and the timing only adds to the frustration with camp just getting underway. Cristobal did not go into the circumstances behind Lowes departure, leaving another layer of uncertainty around a position group that was already supposed to be under a microscope heading into the season. [Read more 🡒]
Darian Mensah Already Sounds Like Miamis Kind Of Quarterback
Darian Mensah did not take long to get a feel for what life is like in Coral Gables. During his first practice with the Hurricanes, the new quarterback saw up close a team that leans into a physical, contact-heavy style as part of its everyday preparation, and he came away sounding impressed by how seriously Miami treats the work.
Mensah also spoke highly of Mario Cristobals competitive approach and leadership, saying the programs culture matched what he was looking for when he transferred. For a quarterback who arrived with championship ambitions, that kind of early alignment matters, and it suggests he believes he has landed in the kind of environment that can support that goal. [Read more 🡒]
Mario Cristobal Deal Puts Miami's Championship Window Front And Center
Mario Cristobals new deal has put Miamis ambitions right back in the spotlight, with the Hurricanes head coach reportedly agreeing to an extension that would push his annual salary past $10 million. Along with the financial commitment to Cristobal, the agreement is said to include a sizable donation to the universitys athletics program, another sign that Miami is continuing to invest heavily in its football future.
The timing matters because this is the sort of move that usually signals confidence in where a program is headed, and Miami has spent years trying to turn promise into something more lasting. The university has not officially announced the extension yet, but the message around Cristobal is clear enough: the school believes its championship window is open, and it is acting like a program that wants to keep it that way. [Read more 🡒]