Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz could be mad. In fact, he’d be well within his rights to be a little ticked off.
His quarterback last season, Darian Mensah, had made a commitment to come back for the 2026 season with the Blue Devils. A month later, he went back on that commitment and instead hit the transfer portal.
Mensah is now expected to be the starting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes next season.
It wasn’t a good situation. Heck, the Blue Devils tried to sue to keep Mensah out of the transfer portal.
Ultimately, the star quarterback was able to leave Durham, North Carolina, though. In a recent interview with Andy Staples of On3, Diaz revealed he has no animosity towards Mensah for the way things played out.
“You know, my overriding emotion is gratitude,” Diaz said. “I really mean that. I am thankful that Darian Mensah came to Duke. I’m grateful that we were able to win the ACC together. We had a great relationship together. Your mindset from that very first day is ‘we’re not going to be a victim‘. We won the championship. That banner will hang in that stadium forever. Now, we find a new way to win again.”
