Miami Hurricanes linked to transfer portal quarterback who could completely change the outlook for 2026
The Canes could have one last shot at a difference-making quarterback in the transfer portal.
The Miami Hurricanes will be fighting it out with the Indiana Hoosiers for the national championship on Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium. As such, the thought about next year is certainly secondary for perhaps Canes fans at the moment.
That being said, 2026 is not secondary for Mario Cristobal and his staff, and up until now, things haven’t gone as perhaps they would have hoped in the pursuit of a transfer portal quarterback for next season.
However, that could be about to change as the portal window comes to a close. Per ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, Duke star quarterback Darian Mensah is entering the transfer portal, and the Miami Hurricanes are the “early favorite”.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel calls Miami the ‘early favorite’ to land Duke QB Darian Mensah in the transfer portal
Mensah would be a tremendous get for Cristobal for 2026. He made waves with a big NIL deal with his transfer to Duke, and he delivered on the field for the Blue Devils. He led the ACC in passing attempts (500), completions (334), passing yards (3974), and passing touchdowns (34) while throwing just six interceptions, earning second-team All-ACC honors in the process.
However, Thamel also notes that Duke holds his exclusive NIL rights and that only the Blue Devils hold the ability to cancel that deal. It’s not immediately clear how that would work if Duke refuses to cancel the deal or if he was paid outside of that agreement.
Miami took big swings at Sam Leavitt and Ty Simpson, but ultimately missed out on both. They got Leavitt on campus for a final visit, which often is a good place to be, but Leavitt went back home and ultimately chose LSU over the Hurricanes and Tennessee. Simpson appears to be staying with his decision to enter the NFL Draft.
That put Miami in position to be looking at starting one of Emory Williams, Luke Nickel, or incoming freshman Dereon Coleman next season, which has caused some grumbling among the fans online. Still, with the way Miami’s run game has functioned this year, that’s not a bad spot to work in an inexperienced starter (Williams has some experience, but he’s far from a grizzled veteran).
But if they can pull off an eleventh-hour acquisition of Mensah, then Miami’s offense would appear poised to potentially reach another level next season that perhaps didn’t seem possible with one of those three. We’ll see if
College Football
Former 5-star Sunshine State recruit is back in the transfer portal, and the Hurricanes should take another swing
Miami has proven they have the ability to take offensive line play to the next level.
