After an unprecedented legal battle with his former school, ACC championship-winning quarterback Darian Mensah will play for the University of Miami in 2026.
Mensah, who on Tuesday reached a resolution with Duke allowing him to transfer and play elsewhere, committed to Miami following a campus visit later the same day, as did Duke leading receiver Cooper Barkate, a program source confirmed. Mensah and Barkate committed to Miami after going to dinner at Prime 112 with a group that included head coach Mario Cristobal, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, Pro Football Hall of Famer Edgerrin James and star receiver Malachi Toney.
Mensah’s arrival in Coral Gables provides a huge boost to Canes coach Mario Cristobal’s roster and marks the third year in a row the Hurricanes have landed one of the top returning quarterbacks in the country via the transfer portal.
He announced his intentions to enter the portal on Jan. 16, the last day of college football’s transfer window. The decision came as a surprise, less than a month after Mensah announced a return to Duke for the 2026 season. A second-team All-ACC honoree in 2025, he led the Blue Devils to their first outright conference championship since 1962.
Mensah initially transferred from Tulane to Duke ahead of the 2025 season, signing a multi-year deal worth more than $3 million annually. The deal, which began as a third-party NIL agreement, transitioned to a revenue sharing contract with Duke last summer under the terms of a multi-billion-dollar antitrust settlement known as the House settlement.
Last week, Duke filed suit against Mensah in Superior Court in Durham County, seeking to prevent Mensah from transferring while the university pursued arbitration over a revenue sharing contract through 2026, which included exclusive rights to Mensah’s name, image and likeness “with respect to higher education and football,” according to the complaint.
A judge granted Duke’s temporary restraining order (TRO), momentarily preventing Mensah from enrolling at and playing football for another school. However, the judge also ruled Duke could not prevent Mensah from entering the portal, which he did on Jan. 21.
Both parties filed a joint motion Tuesday morning to end the case and dismiss the temporary restraining order that prevented Mensah from changing schools. The court filing said the agreement was confidential.
The dispute drew widespread attention as a potential precedent-setting case. It was the first time a school filed a lawsuit against a player to try to prevent or pause his exit. A final ruling would have provided insight into whether NIL contracts are enforceable and how much players can be tied to programs (and vice versa) — significant issues in an era of roster fluidity.
Even with a settlement, the case exposed holes in the system, from contracts without clear exit clauses to the possibility of one school preventing a non-employee from enrolling at another.
“When there’s nobody in charge, this is what happens,” said Matt Fenton, a founder of the Tampa-based employment law firm Wenzel Fenton Cabassa, P.A.
As a redshirt sophomore, Mensah finished second in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing yards (3,973) and touchdown passes (34) last fall, while ranking 24th in completion percentage (66.8) with the 9-5 Blue Devils. Meanwhile, Georgia transfer QB Carson Beck led Miami to 10 regular season wins, the No. 10 seed in the College Football Playoff and then three consecutive Playoff victories before the Hurricanes lost in the national championship game to Indiana.
Mensah has gone 18-9 as a starter over the last two seasons. His 56 combined touchdown passes the last two seasons are tied with new Indiana starter Josh Hoover for the most among returning FBS quarterbacks.
The Hurricanes lost four starters on the offensive line and two starting receivers, but they bring back electric receiver Malachi Toney and all four running backs, including leading rusher Mark Fletcher Jr. Barkate posted 72 catches for 1,106 yards and 7 touchdowns for Duke in 2025. Miami signed two other top veteran receivers out of the transfer portal in Cam Vaughn (West Virginia) and Vandrevius Jacobs (South Carolina).
Miami’s defense has to replace six starters including elite edge rushers Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, but has filled some gaps by adding three Power 4 starters from the portal: edge rusher Damon Wilson (Missouri), defensive lineman Keona Davis (Nebraska) and defensive back Omar Thornton (Boston College).
— The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman contributed reporting.