Is Darian Mensah enough for Miami to win the national championship?

It's not every day that a team fresh off a national championship appearance loses a third-round NFL draft pick at quarterback and still feels like it upgraded the most important position in football.

The Miami Hurricanes have become one of college football's prime QB transfer portal poachers, getting a Heisman Trophy-worthy season from Cam Ward in 2024 and a remarkable College Football Playoff run from Carson Beck in 2025. They had the country's highest-scoring offense with Ward, who became the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and remained in the top 30 under Beck, now with the Arizona Cardinals.

But now is the era of Darian Mensah, who played as a freshman at Tulane before taking Duke to the ACC championship last season. Mensah finished second behind only Drew Mestamaker (then of North Texas, now of Oklahoma State) with 3,973 passing yards, a Blue Devils record. The two were behind only Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza with 34 touchdowns. And perhaps most enticing to Hurricanes fans infuriated by Beck's 12 interceptions, Mensah paired those gaudy numbers with just six picks.

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Miami landed Mensah after a messy spat that involved Duke filing a lawsuit after the former two-star high school recruit broke a lofty two-year NIL deal. That suit was dismissed, and now Miami not only has Duke's star quarterback, but also his favorite target in Cooper Barkate. Them plus freshman-record-breaker Malachi Toney and bruising bellcow running back Mark Fletcher Jr. has Miami fans eyeing a return to the national championship and this time bringing a sixth title back to the U.

Is Mensah worth the hype? We'll see for sure when the season kicks off Sept. 4 at Stanford (and especially during the November showdown with Notre Dame). But here's what we can expect from Mensah, the good, the bad and the potential.

What Darian Mensah showed in 2025

Sometimes, players who transfer from the Group of 6 to a Power 4 conference need a little time to adjust to the increase in competition. To some extent, that was true of Mensah: After an incredible debut for Duke against FCS Elon, he came down to earth some in a pair of losses against Illinois and his former team Tulane, throwing a pick in both. Even then, though, he still threw for 300 yards in each game and completed 62% of his passes.

When ACC play came along, Mensah showed he was more than capable of leading a top-tier offense in a power conference. He threw only two interceptions the rest of the regular season, both coming against UConn, and tossed multiple touchdown passes in all but two games. Pro Football Focus graded him at 73 or better in six of his eight ACC games and at 69 in the ACC championship game. His 85 passer grade for the season ranked 14th in the nation, ahead of Ole Miss's Trinidad Chambliss, Notre Dame's CJ Carr and Texas's Arch Manning.

The ACC Newcomer of the Year showed he was capable of making every throw from deft over-the-top tosses to tight-window seeds between defenders. Even better, he showed an ability to extend plays to let his receivers find a way open. Even if he's not much of a running threat — PFF credited him with just 21 scrambles last year, and that plus his sack yardage gave him -32 rushing yards at Duke — he's quick enough to evade pass rushers.

What Darian Mensah still needs to fix

Though he has thrown only six interceptions in each of his two college seasons, next-level analysis indicates numbers that low are a matter of luck. PFF put Mensah down for 17 turnover-worthy plays — passes with a high chance to be picked off or plays on which he didn't take care of the ball on a carry or sack — in 2025. That tied for the 25th highest number in the country; throw in the postseason, and his 21 such plays were in the bottom 10.

He also fumbled nine times (two in the ACC championship game), adding to the seven from his year at Tulane. Considering most Hurricanes fans attribute their three losses last year to Carson Beck interceptions, Mensah will have to keep those giveaways down if he is to deliver a championship to the U.

How Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate can unlock Mensah

Fans can forgive risky passes if they come as a result of stretching the field and seeking big plays, and that is largely the case with Mensah. Bringing favorite target Cooper Barkate over from Duke should help him stay comfortable and confident in airing it out, as will the upgrade from Sean Brown to Malachi Toney on the other side of the field. Chucking to two 1,000-yard receivers is every QB's dream, and Mensah will be expected to take full advantage in Miami.

The pair's different skill sets portend well for a strong season from Mensah. Barkate excels in intermediate routes, giving Miami a strong option on third downs and underneath routes when defenses worry about Toney sprinting downfield for 30- or 40-yard bombs. With a big, athletic tight end like Elija Lofton serving as a goal-line target and other burners from the transfer portal in Vandrevius Jacobs and Cam Vaughn, the arsenal is more than enough to make Mensah a legitimate Heisman candidate.

Can Darian Mensah win a national championship at Miami?

Absolutely. Carson Beck gave Miami just what they expected, but Mensah is a better fit for this team. The offensive line should still be a strong unit, but with four starters from last year graduating, it might take a little time for it to gel. Mensah's ability to avoid rogue rushers makes him a natural fit for that transition, and once all the pieces fall into place, the offense could be one of the best in college football again like it was under Cam Ward. The pieces are all there for Miami to improve from the No. 40 total offense and No. 30 scoring offense and break into the top 10; if the defense can remain a semblance of the terrifying unit of 2025, the Hurricanes can see their season end in Las Vegas with orange and green confetti flying.

Miami football schedule 2026

All times Eastern.

• Friday, Sept. 4: at Stanford* | 9 p.m. | ESPN
• Thursday, Sept. 10: vs. Florida A&M | 8 p.m. | ACC Network
• Friday, Sept. 18: at Wake Forest* | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
• Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Central Michigan | 6:30 p.m. | The CW
• Saturday, Oct. 3: at Clemson* | TBD
• Saturday, Oct. 10: Open
• Saturday, Oct. 17: vs. Florida State* | TBD
• Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. Pittsburgh* | TBD
• Saturday, Oct. 31: at North Carolina* | TBD
• Saturday, Nov. 7: at Notre Dame | 7:30 p.m. | NBC
• Saturday, Nov. 14: vs. Duke* | TBD
• Saturday, Nov. 21: vs. Virginia Tech* | TBD
• Saturday, Nov. 28: vs. Boston College* | TBD

*- ACC game

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Is Darian Mensah enough for Miami to win the national championship?

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