Darian Mensah

Darian Mensah led the ACC in passing and won a surprise title at Duke. Now he's Miami's big-money answer at quarterback -- a proven passer dropped onto a roster that was a game from the championship.

QB · Duke · Cl 2 · #10

CFB Zeitgeist 69transferred_college

Darian Mensah led the ACC in passing and won a surprise title at Duke. Now he's Miami's big-money answer at quarterback -- a proven passer dropped onto a roster that was a game from the championship.

Aura™ · Him Watch the full board →

Hype = tape +4aura tax

Fans rank this player in the 92nd percentile of QBs; the tape says 88th — the discourse is fair.

Aura — fan perception92nd pctl

Production — on-field88th pctl

n=121 mentions · cohort: QBs · 160 qualified · perception = conversation volume, production = wepa_passing

His 2025 at Duke was a breakout in full: an ACC-best 3,973 passing yards, 34 touchdowns against only six interceptions, a 66.8 completion percentage, second-team All-ACC, ACC Newcomer of the Year and a Davey O'Brien semifinal nod -- and a surprise conference title. Miami made him the headline of its offseason, the top-dollar portal swing meant to replace its departed quarterback. The fit is the story: a program fresh off a Playoff near-miss adds a passer who already does the hardest thing well -- protect the ball while pushing the offense. The forward stakes are a championship window. Miami doesn't need Mensah to be a revelation; it needs him to be exactly what he was at Duke, on a bigger stage. Do that, and the Hurricanes are a Playoff team and he's a 2027 draft riser.

PLAY STYLE

Mensah is a pure pocket passer who wins on efficiency and ball security, and the data is glowing. Our play-by-play grades his EPA per dropback in the 92nd percentile and his passing success rate in the 95th, and the interception avoidance is elite -- an 85th-percentile (very low) pick rate that matches his real 34-to-6 ratio. He's accurate (91st-percentile completion) and willing to push it (94th-percentile explosive-pass rate at a healthy depth of target), the rare combination of careful and aggressive. There's no exotic running element here; the value is in the operation -- decisive, accurate, turnover-averse. He's the kind of quarterback who doesn't beat himself, and on a roster this talented, that's exactly the profile a Playoff run wants.

SOURCES

Career Arc

Recruit

★★

#2289 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2024–2025

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted (yet)

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

2 entries

🥈

ALL-CONFERENCE · 1ST TEAM

All-Conf 1st team (2025)

All-ACC

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach

2024

Manny Diaz

Duke

2025

Manny Diaz

Duke

Played his entire career under Manny Diaz.

Where He Ended Up · Transfer

Transferred to Miami

2025Duke

2026Miami

View Duke career stats ↓

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2024Tulane9-5HC: Jon Sumrall · Run-heavy

2025Duke9-5HC: Manny Diaz · Balanced

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

69Solid starter

8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: pass yards (99th). Strength: pass tds (98th). Concern: fumbles lost (2nd).

Pass yards#2 / 183 · 99th pct

3973pass

Pass TDs#2 / 183 · 99th pct

34pass

Completion %#32 / 183 · 83rd pct

66.8%pass

Yards / att#44 / 183 · 75th pct

7.9pass

Interceptions#70 / 183 · 56th pct

6pass

Rush TDs#123 / 183 · 26th pct

1rush

Rush yards#163 / 183 · 11th pct

-32rush

Fumbles lost#168 / 174 · 2nd pct

5fumb

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Awards

Selector Grid · 2025

AP—

FWAA—

AFCA—

WCFF—

SN—

SI—

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

2 entries

🥈

ALL-CONFERENCE · 1ST TEAM

All-Conf 1st team (2025)

All-ACC

Career stats

Passing

Season-by-season quarterback passing line in a familiar scoreboard layout.

Season	Team	CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	Y/A	TD	INT	RATE	LNG	SACK
2025	DukeFinal snapshot	334	500	66.8%	3,973	7.9	34	6	153.6	--	--
2024	TulaneFinal snapshot	189	287	65.9%	2,723	9.5	22	6	166.7	--	--
Career	2 loaded seasonsCareer row reflects the stat seasons currently loaded in this database.	523	787	66.5%	6,696	8.5	56	12	158.4	--	--

Rushing

Ground contribution that rounds out the quarterback profile.

Season	Team	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG
2025	DukeFinal snapshot	59	-32	-0.5	1	--
2024	TulaneFinal snapshot	60	132	2.2	1	--
Career	2 loaded seasonsCareer row reflects the stat seasons currently loaded in this database.	119	100	0.8	2	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 15 · 2025

W 27–20

at Virginia

196 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 82.1

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 on the road.

Game log

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 14 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	Note
Wk 1	W 45-17vs Elon	27/34	389	3	0	11.4	68.8	Season-high 389 yds
Wk 2	L 19-45vs Illinois	23/34	334	2	1	9.8	68.4
Wk 3	L 27-34@ Tulane	30/51	313	3	1	6.1	71.0	3 TD passes
Wk 4	W 45-33vs NC State	19/28	269	3	0	9.6	88.2	3 TD passes
Wk 5	W 38-3@ Syracuse	22/28	268	2	0	9.6	88.1	Clean 2-TD game
Wk 6	W 45-21@ California	22/30	265	2	0	8.8	86.6	Clean 2-TD game
Wk 8	L 18-27vs Georgia Tech	32/44	373	2	0	8.5	61.0	Clean 2-TD game
Wk 10	W 46-45@ Clemson	27/41	361	4	0	8.8	91.4	4 TD passes
Wk 11	L 34-37@ UConn	22/31	222	3	2	7.2	74.8	3 TD passes
Wk 12	L 17-34vs Virginia	18/35	213	1	0	6.1	30.4
Wk 13	W 32-25@ North Carolina	20/33	175	1	0	5.3	84.6
Wk 14	W 49-32vs Wake Forest	24/35	268	2	0	7.7	90.1	Clean 2-TD game
Wk 15	W 27-20@ Virginia	19/25	196	2	1	7.8	82.1
Bowl	W 42-39vs Arizona State	29/51	327	4	1	6.4	60.5
Total		334/500	3973	34	6	8.1	74.7

How he plays

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

69Solid starter

8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: pass yards (99th). Strength: pass tds (98th). Concern: fumbles lost (2nd).

Pass yards#2 / 183 · 99th pct

3973pass

Pass TDs#2 / 183 · 99th pct

34pass

Completion %#32 / 183 · 83rd pct

66.8%pass

Yards / att#44 / 183 · 75th pct

7.9pass

Interceptions#70 / 183 · 56th pct

6pass

Rush TDs#123 / 183 · 26th pct

1rush

Rush yards#163 / 183 · 11th pct

-32rush

Fumbles lost#168 / 174 · 2nd pct

5fumb

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

PLAY STYLE

Perception vs tape

Darian Mensah led the ACC in passing and won a surprise title at Duke. Now he's Miami's big-money answer at quarterback — a proven passer dropped onto a roster that was a game from the championship.

His 2025 at Duke was a breakout in full: an ACC-best 3,973 passing yards, 34 touchdowns against only six interceptions, a 66.8 completion percentage, second-team All-ACC, ACC Newcomer of the Year and a Davey O'Brien semifinal nod — and a surprise conference title. Miami made him the headline of its offseason, the top-dollar portal swing meant to replace its departed quarterback. The fit is the story: a program fresh off a Playoff near-miss adds a passer who already does the hardest thing well — protect the ball while pushing the offense. The forward stakes are a championship window. Miami doesn't need Mensah to be a revelation; it needs him to be exactly what he was at Duke, on a bigger stage. Do that, and the Hurricanes are a Playoff team and he's a 2027 draft riser.

How he plays

Mensah is a pure pocket passer who wins on efficiency and ball security, and the data is glowing. Our play-by-play grades his EPA per dropback in the 92nd percentile and his passing success rate in the 95th, and the interception avoidance is elite — an 85th-percentile (very low) pick rate that matches his real 34-to-6 ratio. He's accurate (91st-percentile completion) and willing to push it (94th-percentile explosive-pass rate at a healthy depth of target), the rare combination of careful and aggressive. There's no exotic running element here; the value is in the operation — decisive, accurate, turnover-averse. He's the kind of quarterback who doesn't beat himself, and on a roster this talented, that's exactly the profile a Playoff run wants.

2026 outlook · as of 2026-06-13

src

DNA match

Player DNA

The Pocket Surgeon

High-percentage passer who protects the ball. Loses the matchup on improvisation.

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Michael Penix Jr.’s 2023 season.

Michael Penix Jr.

71%match

Washington · 2023

Maxwell1st-team All-AmericanNFL Rd 1 · Pk 8

Josh Hoover

TCU · 2024

67%

Kenny Pickett

Pittsburgh · 2021

Unitas Golden Arm1st-team All-AmericanNFL Rd 1 · Pk 20

65%

Bailey Zappe

Western Kentucky · 2021

All-Conference USANFL Rd 4

63%

Tyler Johnston III

UAB · 2020

57%

Matches Michael on

Yards / attempt

Total pass EPA (college ability)

INT rate

Differs from Michael on

Recruiting rating (lower)

Class year (lower)

Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Dustin Crum’s path through Kent State.

Dustin Crum

94%match

Kent State · 2021

All-MAC

Bailey Zappe

Western Kentucky · 2021

All-Conference USANFL Rd 4

85%

Desmond Ridder

Cincinnati · 2021

All-AACNFL Rd 3 · Pk 10

84%

Skylar John Thompson

Kansas State · 2021

80%

Eli Peters

Toledo · 2020

78%

Matches Dustin on

Height

Yards per attempt

Completion %

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Drew Mestemaker's sophomore season at North Texas (2025).

Drew Mestemaker

60%match

North Texas · 2025

BurlsworthAll-AAC

Carson Strong

Nevada · 2021

All-Mountain West

59%

Clayton Tune

Houston · 2021

All-AACNFL Rd 5

59%

Jake Haener

Fresno State · 2021

All-Mountain WestNFL Rd 4

59%

Kaleb Eleby

Western Michigan · 2021

All-MAC

59%

Matches Drew on

Height

Differs from Drew on

Rush yards / carry (lower)

Total pass EPA (college ability) (higher)

Yards / attempt (lower)

Peer comparator

Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match

Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile

3 peers · 8 metrics

Darian MensahDukeOwen McCownUTSA· 87% simTy SimpsonAlabama· 85% simAthan KaliakmanisRutgers· 76% sim

Pass yards

99
Mensah

80
McCown

94
Simpson

84
Kaliakmanis

Pass TDs

99
Mensah

96
McCown

93
Simpson

77
Kaliakmanis

Completion %

83
Mensah

88
McCown

66
Simpson

49
Kaliakmanis

Yards / att

75
Mensah

57
McCown

63
Simpson

88
Kaliakmanis

Interceptions

56
Mensah

44
McCown

67
Simpson

44
Kaliakmanis

Rush TDs

26
Mensah

26
McCown

39
Simpson

59
Kaliakmanis

Rush yards

11
Mensah

27
McCown

42
Simpson

12
Kaliakmanis

Fumbles lost

2
Mensah

18
McCown

0
Simpson

38
Kaliakmanis

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.

Heisman trajectory

Heisman futures · live sportsbook odds

#7 in market · 6 books

+90010.0% implied▲ tightened from +1500

Development

Development Trajectory · passing yards

2024–2025

2,7232024

3,9732025

+46%

Up 46% from first season to most-recent.