Darian Mensah’s settlement agreement was finalized this week, ending a messy legal standoff. This means he was finally cleared to make it official with Miami, giving head coach Mario Cristobal his QB for 2026. On3 reported that the QB signed with the Hurricanes on Wednesday. And people around the sport are already guessing what he’s about to become. 

“I think Darian Mensah goes into the 2026 season as the Heisman Trophy favorite,” ESPN’s Louis Riddick told ACC PM on January 29. 

The statement reframed Miami’s 2026 outlook and raised the stakes for everyone involved. Many people may find Riddick’s comments surprising due to Darian Mensah’s unproven elite status. But his conviction wasn’t a passing remark. He traced it back to Mensah’s debut years ago, when he first saw him at Tulane.

“Immediately when he was wearing that No. 10 at Tulane, I said, ‘This guy looks like Jordan Love,'” he said. 

Not the size, but the movement, the calm, the rhythm. He described Darian Mensah as smooth, confident, and unbothered in the pocket. And now that he’s officially Miami’s QB, the betting markets followed the conversation. 

Darian Mensah’s Heisman odds jumped quickly, and he now sits among the sixth-best odds at +1500 at FanDuel. That’s notable for a program that hasn’t produced a Heisman winner since Gino Torretta in 1992. Texas’ Arch Manning and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr lead the board at +750, with Indiana’s Josh Hoover at +1000. Mensah’s elite company at +1500 includes Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, LSU’s Sam Leavitt, and Oregon’s Dante Moore.

What fuels that confidence is production, not projection alone. At Duke, Darian Mensah put together one of the most statistically dominant seasons in the country. He threw for 3,973 yards and 34 TDs, leading the ACC in both categories. Nationally, those numbers are ranked second in passing yards and are tied for second in TDs across all of college football, and they were the best totals among P4 QBs. That came one year after a strong redshirt sophomore season at Tulane, where he posted 3,723 yards, 22 TDs, and just six interceptions.

The journey to Miami wasn’t an easy one by any means. Darian Mensah signed a two-year deal with Duke, then announced plans to enter the transfer portal, triggering a lawsuit that briefly froze his future. This week’s settlement closed that chapter and opened another. And in Riddick’s view, the environment the QB is stepping into under OC Shannon Dawson could accelerate everything. 

“With the offensive line, running game, and wide receivers they’re going to provide him with, and then the complementary defense, I’m just telling you this,” Riddick said. “Darian Mensah, I think if it all goes the way it’s supposed to go, he will be the Heisman Trophy favorite. I’ll just say it. I would expect him to be someone who can go ahead and bring home that hardware next year. And he will be a Top-5, Top-10 selection in the NFL Draft come 2027.”

That projection makes more sense when you look at what’s around Darian Mensah. Miami’s offense returns its entire RB room, led by 1,000-yard rusher Mark Fletcher Jr. The line adds 5-star tackle Jackson Cantwell, whose development will be watched closely. And that offensive boost didn’t stop at QB.

Mario Cristobal finds chemistry with Darian Mensah 

If Darian Mensah’s arrival raised expectations, Miami’s next move explained the plan. Mario Cristobal added 6’1, 195-pound Duke WR Cooper Barkate through the portal, reuniting their new QB with the target he trusted most. Barkate hails from Newport Beach, spending three seasons at Harvard before transferring to Duke in 2025.

There, Cooper Barkate finished the year with 72 catches for 1,106 yards and seven TDs. The 195-pound WR’s yardage was ranked second in the ACC behind Miami’s Malachi Toney and ninth nationally. Barkate, Mensah, and Duke RB Nate Sheppard were all named Second Team All-ACC.

That chemistry powered a historic season for Duke under former Miami head coach Manny Diaz. The Blue Devils averaged 34.6 points and 285.4 passing yards per game, went 9-5, won their first outright ACC Championship since 1962 with a 27-20 victory over Virginia, and capped the year with a 42-39 Sun Bowl win over Arizona State.

Top Stories

Chiefs Coach Drops Major Hint About Travis Kelce’s Future Before Sending Strong Message to Locker Room

Josh Allen Officially at Risk of Losing 21 Players as Bills Coach Quits Hours After Joe Brady Announcement

Travis Kelce Confirms Sporting Decision Away From Chiefs After TE’s Major Career News

Sources: Mike Evans Could be Done With Buccaneers, Cowboys to Franchise Tag George Pickens, Alec Pierce Expected to Test Free Agency

Pro Football Hall of Fame Threatens Strong Action After Bill Polian Controversy as Bill Belichick Snubbed

Bryson DeChambeau Visits PGA of America as LIV Golf’s Future Looks Bleak

Cooper Barkate’s game translates cleanly. He dropped just six passes all season, averaged 15.2 yards per catch, and consistently won in the intermediate areas. His best performances include 13 catches for 172 yards against Georgia Tech, six for 127 against Clemson, and 91 yards in the ACC title game. Now, he joins Cam Vaughn and Vandrevious Jacobs as portal additions, complementing a receiver room that already includes Toney, Josh Moore, and a strong freshman class. All this development only bolsters Darian Mensah’s case as a potential Heisman winner.