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College football fans witnessed a transfer portal drama surrounding quarterback Darian Mensah. With the Miami Hurricanes, the ex- Duke Blue Devils quarterback will be making $6.5 million. But his mother tried to shut down the criticisms with a bold statement.
Even though Mensah re-committed to the Blue Devils, the Hurricanes poached him away on the last day of the transfer portal being open in January. Months later, Mensah’s mother, Naomi, broke the silence on the reason behind her son’s transfer.
“I’d see people saying he is a traitor and has no heart and he’s not loyal and jumping from school to school,” Naomi said to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. “There was hate like, ‘F*** that guy.’ It was hard to see. The people who really matter understood his reasoning and were actually encouraging him to go.”
As informed by his mother during the Yahoo Sports interview, they had only six hours to make the call. Darian and his family gathered to weigh their options before deciding to enter the transfer portal.
“People were dragging Darian for thinking it was all about money. It wasn’t. There was money either way,” added Naomi. “We looked at the big picture of where Darian wants to go. That ultimately was the choice. What was going to get him to his end goal? He could go and win the ACC again but could he get to a natty and win the Heisman?”
The fact that Duke and Miami belong to the same ACC conference, fans criticized the move, claiming that money pushed him to make the decision. However, Mensah’s mother highlighted how it came down to choosing a program that offers the best path to the National Championship stage.
Mensah committed to Miami days before the Hurricanes lost the Natty to the Indiana Hoosiers. But Miami made it to the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2026, which was 24 years after their last national championship appearance in 2002.
While money has not been the reason behind Mensah’s transfer, his high NIL offer is drawing attention.
Top NIL earner Darian Mensah is ready to lead Miami
Mensah starred for Duke in 2025, helping the Blue Devils capture their first outright ACC title since 1962. He finished the season with 3,937 passing yards and 34 touchdowns.
After such success, Mensah was supposed to grab a hefty NIL deal. While Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning once held the top seat, his valuation dropped.
According to On3’s latest NIL valuations, Mensah is at the top with an NIL valuation of $6.5 million among college athletes. The next college football star is the Oregon Ducks quarterback, Dante Moore, at No.4 with a valuation of $5 million.
With Mensah’s heavy deal comes huge responsibility, and the quarterback is already tapped into the mindset of leading Miami.
“This is my team,” he said in a 1-on-1 with the Miami Herald on at the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Football Kickoff in Charlotte. “This is my offense. I’m excited to go compete with the guys.”
Mensah topped all Power 4 quarterbacks in passing yards and ranked second in passing touchdowns behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.
Last time Miami failed to lift the Natty. Will Mensah’s talent help them to make up for the missed honor? Let us know in the comments.
Read more at Michigan Football Community.
