The Duke Blue Devils made a statement by adding Darian Mensah in the transfer portal this offseason. With the money the former Tulane quarterback is being paid, FOX Sports’ RJ Young believes there will be a lot of weight on his shoulders.
Analyst Cautions Duke After Darian Mensah Addition
With reports that Mensah is being paid $4 million annually, he’s unofficially the highest-paid player in college football history.
“It’s worth what Dillon Gabriel is gonna get paid by the Cleveland Browns, what Jalen Milroe is gonna get paid by the Seattle Seahawks, but if Darian Mensah does not measure up to that sort of talent — and I’m talking about Day 1 — you’re gonna look around and you’re gonna look kinda foolish if you’re the Blue Devils,” Young said Saturday on “Adapt & Respond with RJ Young.”
Mensah made 13 starts for the Green Wave last season, passing for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. His 9.5 yards per attempt led the AAC.
“That’s pretty decent. That’s not $8 million over two years,” Young said. “That’s not $8 million over three years. You know how I know that? Because that’s what Nico Iamaleava was getting paid to play at Tennessee.”
Young cautioned that Mensah’s performance will be pitted against the ACC’s best at his position, which many expect to be Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and Miami’s Carson Beck. Young took a step further, asking if Mensah will play as well as SMU’s Kevin Jennings or Tyler Van Dyke.
“That’s the company you’re keeping, that’s what you have invited into your living room,” Young said. “The bear of, ‘Ooh, potential.’ And, ‘Are you going to reach it?’ Because this is the money you’re getting paid, and this is the rate of return on investment that the public is going to expect.”
Duke’s acquisition of Mensah signals a desire to compete in the conference. Over the past three seasons, the Blue Devils have gone 26-13, boosted by former head coach Mike Elko and his successor, Manny Diaz.
“Duke has more or less hovered in the ACC between dead-ass-last bad, middle of the pack, to, ‘Hey, look at who just missed out on playing in the ACC Championship game,” Young said. “And the signing of a quarterback to a $8 million contract in January would lead you to believe that Duke is looking to take the leap in the ACC in 2025.”
However, Mensah isn’t the most notable quarterback transfer of this offseason, a group that includes Miami’s Beck and John Mateer, who relocated to Oklahoma from Washington State.
“If I had told you that that player was John Mateer, who had thrown for over 3,000 yards last year, and, when you adjust for sack yards, had rushed for over 1,000 yards last year, had 44 touchdowns, you would tell me, ‘Yeah, that’s pretty good money,'” Young said. “He’s actually gonna make less than Darian Mensah at Duke.”
