{"id":134649,"date":"2026-01-28T07:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T07:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134649\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T07:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T07:42:15","slug":"duke-and-qb-darian-mensah-reach-settlement-setting-up-transfer-to-miami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134649\/","title":{"rendered":"Duke and QB Darian Mensah reach settlement, setting up transfer to Miami"},"content":{"rendered":"

Darian Mensah is transferring to Miami after all.<\/p>\n

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.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDarian extends his sincere gratitude to Duke University for engaging in good-faith discussions and reaching this resolution,\u201d a statement from Mensah\u2019s Young Money APAA Sports agency said<\/a>. \u201cHe wishes the Blue Devils, Coach [Manny] Diaz, the staff, and the entire fan base continued success in the seasons ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2025 ACC Championship run will forever stand as a remarkable chapter in Duke football history, one Darian is proud to have been part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, hours later, Mensah committed to play at Miami next season, according to On3’s Pete Nakos and Hayes Fawcett<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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<\/a>. “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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Duke had said that Mensah\u2019s \u201cenrollment at another school and commitment to play football at that school\u201d 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 \u201cno other school can use Mensah\u2019s NIL.\u201d There was reportedly no buyout in Mensah’s contract with Duke.<\/p>\n

Along with Beck’s arrival at Miami, Mensah’s move to Duke was one of the biggest transfers ahead of the 2025 season. And he lived up to the billing with the Blue Devils.<\/p>\n

Mensah was 334-of-500 passing for 3,973 yards and 34 TDs with just six interceptions as the Blue Devils beat Virginia in the ACC title game. However, since Duke lost five games during the regular season, the Blue Devils did not make the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n

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Before he announced he was intending to transfer on the final day the portal window was open, Mensah and Duke had jointly announced his return to Durham for the 2026 season. However, the quarterback pool became chaotic over the final days of the transfer window, as former Alabama QB Ty Simpson reportedly said that Miami and Ole Miss had offered him $6.5 million to transfer instead of enter the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n