​It was shocking to the college football world when Miami quarterback Darian Mensah transferred from Duke. At ACC Media Days, he illuminated why. He chose to transfer to Miami due to the system, the quarterbacks preceding him, and the coaching.”Obviously, seeing what the last two quarterbacks did at Miami was a huge factor,” Mensah said to Drew Cagle of Clemson’s Sports Illustrated page. The past two quarterbacks, Cam Ward and Carson Beck, were both top-100 picks in the 2026 NFL draft. Ward was selected No. 1 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2024 NFL Draft, while Beck was selected No. 65.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”Then seeing the freedom that Coach Dawson lets the quarterback play within his offense is also something that attracted me as well,” Mensah continued. Mensah totaled an ACC-leading 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions, so the fact that he feels freer in the Hurricanes’ offense is telling.”Seeing the type of roster Miami had, I wanted to compete for a national championship,” said Mensah, when a reporter asked him about going to Miami vs. staying in Duke for another year. Cagle’s post also discusses about how the timing was unfortunate.The timing couldn’t have been more unfortunate for Duke. With the Hurricanes going all the way to the national championship, they couldn’t pursue transfers until after the game. If Mensah had his mind set on committing to Miami, he had to wait until most of the transfer portal talent transferred out.Duke will now roll with former San Jose State starter Walker Eget as their starter. They acted quickly, but it was a tough situation for the Duke Blue Devils, who won the ACC championship but didn’t make the College Football Playoff despite an 8-5 record. They won their bowl game and went up to 9-5, but Mensah didn’t think he could win a national championship with Duke.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementContact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Miami quarterback Darian Mensah explains sudden transfer from Duke