Darian Mensah is transferring to Miami after all.

The Duke quarterback reached a settlement with Duke on Tuesday that allows him to freely enter the transfer portal and play for another school in 2026. The agreement comes after Duke took legal action against Mensah to prevent his transfer.

“Darian extends his sincere gratitude to Duke University for engaging in good-faith discussions and reaching this resolution,” a statement from Mensah’s Young Money APAA Sports agency said. “He wishes the Blue Devils, Coach [Manny] Diaz, the staff, and the entire fan base continued success in the seasons ahead.

“The 2025 ACC Championship run will forever stand as a remarkable chapter in Duke football history, one Darian is proud to have been part of.”

Then, hours later, Mensah committed to play at Miami next season, according to On3’s Pete Nakos and Hayes Fawcett. Mensah had been heavily linked to Miami ever since he announced he wanted to leave Duke. The Hurricanes needed a new starting quarterback after Carson Beck played the final game of his six-season college football career in Miami’s national title game loss to Indiana.

“We are committed to fulfilling all promises and obligations Duke makes to our student-athletes when we enter into contractual agreements with them, and we expect the same in return,” Duke said in a statement. “Enforcing those agreements is a necessary element of ensuring predictability and structure for athletic programs. It is nonetheless a difficult choice to pursue legal action against a student and teammate; for this reason we sought to resolve the matter fairly and quickly.”

Mensah isn’t the only Duke player who is heading to Miami, either. Duke wide receiver Cooper Barkate entered the transfer portal late like Mensah did. And he also said Wednesday night that he was heading to Miami.

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Barkate had 72 catches for 1,106 yards and seven TDs in 2025. He’s a perfect second option for Mensah at Miami alongside star wide receiver Malachi Toney.

A week ago, Duke filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent Mensah from enrolling at another school. The TRO was granted, though Mensah was permitted to enter the transfer portal.

Duke had said that Mensah’s “enrollment at another school and commitment to play football at that school” would be a violation of the terms of the NIL deal he signed with Duke ahead of the 2026 season and that the contract stipulated that “no other school can use Mensah’s NIL.” There was reportedly no buyout in Mensah’s contract with Duke.

Miami allegedly made a big offer for Mensah after the Hurricanes had struck out on quarterbacks through the winter transfer cycle. Alabama QB Ty Simpson declared for the draft after the 2025 season and said that the Hurricanes had offered him $6.5 million to enter the transfer portal instead and play for the Hurricanes.

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Simpson elected to stay in the draft. And Miami kept searching.

Mensah will be the third straight transfer quarterback to start for the Hurricanes in 2026 as he follows Cam Ward and current starter Carson Beck. And it’s hard to dispute the Hurricanes’ success with either of those two.

Miami went 10-2 in the regular season in 2024 and just missed out on the College Football Playoff. Ward, who came to Miami from Washington State, threw for over 4,300 yards and tossed 39 TDs in 13 games. He parlayed that success into a fourth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting and the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Beck has led the Hurricanes to the title game after he transferred from Georgia. Beck came to Miami on what was one of the richest NIL deals for a quarterback ahead of the 2025 season despite his late-season elbow injury. Beck suffered a serious injury to his throwing elbow at the end of the first half of the SEC title game in December and wasn’t able to throw during spring practice.

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However, he was healthy for Week 1 as Miami beat Notre Dame. That turned out to be pivotal, as it ultimately got the Hurricanes into the College Football Playoff in the final rankings.

Mensah arrives at Miami with better stats in a previous season than either QB, too. As Duke won the ACC title — Miami tied for first but didn’t make the title game due to tiebreakers — Mensah was 334-of-500 passing for 3,973 yards and 34 TDs with just six interceptions.

In that ACC title game win over Virginia, Mensah was 19-of-25 for 196 yards and two scores and an interception. In the Blue Devils’ bowl win over Arizona State, he competed just 57% of his passes but threw for 327 yards and four scores along with an interception.

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His transfer is a massive blow to Duke — especially as the Blue Devils made their own big-money move to get him from Tulane after the 2025 season. Mensah proved to be well worth Duke’s investment and it wasn’t too long ago that the school celebrated his return for 2026.

Instead, Mensah is heading to a conference rival. And yes, the two teams will play each other in 2026. Miami hosts the Blue Devils in November.