After two weeks of back-and-forth drama on whether it would happen or not, on Tuesday night, the Miami Hurricanes finally locked down their starting quarterback for the upcoming 2026 season.
It’s been tough sledding for head coach Mario Cristobal, who had to bounce back from a heart wrenching defeat in the College Football Playoff national title game to Indiana and get straight into last-second transfer portal moves.
With current signal-caller Carson Beck left with no more years of eligibility and moving to the NFL, the Hurricanes were in desperate need of finding an experienced, high-level QB to take his place. Although they were in on both Sam Leavitt and Brendan Sorsby, the Hurricanes lost out on both to LSU and Texas Tech, respectively.
This forced the Hurricanes to think outside the box, maneuvering to land one of the top passers in the nation, Duke’s Darian Mensah, who committed to stay one more year in school before going to the NFL.
On a two-year deal with the reigning ACC champion Blue Devils, it seemed improbable that the Hurricanes could get him down to South Beach.
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But after a week of Duke talking about wanting compensation, discussions about whether they’d block his transfer, and whether there were any ways to actually stop Mensah from transferring, the saga finally came to an end.
Mensah is officially available to move programs, and Miami will have its star QB to put alongside the offensive arsenal they’re building on campus, following a season in which their defense was the headline.
Along with Mensah, Duke’s top receiver and the QB’s favorite target, Cooper Barkate, is also expected to commit shortly and sign with the Hurricanes. The leading Blue Devil wideout was on campus Tuesday, visiting the school before the news of Mensah’s commitment.
If the Hurricanes can get Barkate’s sign-off before he exits Florida, Miami would be set up with one of the best attacking forces in the nation going into 2026. Mensah and Barkate would join the freshman phenom Malachi Toney through the air with star Mark Fletcher Jr. in the backfield.
