Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah entered the transfer portal after an electric freshman season. Already a superstar, Mensah is one of the top quarterbacks currently in the transfer portal and should have plenty of interest from Power Four teams.
Which teams could be interested? Here are five potential transfer portal landing spots for him.
Where Could Darian Mensah Transfer?
Mensah wasn’t highly recruited out of high school, but this was a home-run evaluation by Tulane’s previous staff. Not only was he passed over by 133 FBS schools, but Mensah was also missed by almost every FCS team as well.
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Nevertheless, Tulane pushed for the California native and earned his commitment. Mensah redshirted in 2023 but earned the starting job over more highly recruited quarterbacks in 2024. He was impressive, throwing for 2,732 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Green Wave.
Mensah should have interest from plenty of bigger schools, but I’m also including a few Group of Five schools.
USC Trojans
There are only a few top quarterbacks currently in the transfer portal and one of them is Miller Moss, who transferred out of Southern California. Mensah was born about 200 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and it would make sense for the USC Trojans to push.
Mensah’s playing style would mesh well with what we’ve seen from past Lincoln Riley-coached quarterbacks. The Trojans can’t afford to sit back and hope a bigger fish comes to them when Mensah is right there.
Houston Cougars
It wasn’t Jon Sumrall’s staff that recruited Mensah to Tulane. That honor belongs to former Green Wave head coach Willie Fritz and offensive coordinator Slade Nagle.
While Fritz moved to become the Houston Cougars head coach, Nagle spent a season with the LSU Tigers as the tight ends coach. Yet, the Cougars hired Nagle to work as the OC once again under Fritz.
Houston had some quarterback issues in 2024, but Mensah could bring stability to the position under his former head coach and offensive coordinator.
Fresno State Bulldogs
The Fresno State Bulldogs are at the dawn of a new era after hiring former North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz after a few uncharacteristically poor seasons. Can the Bulldogs land a top-tier QB transfer to kick-start the rebuild?
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Fresno is out of the way compared to some of the other California schools, but it is under 150 miles from San Luis Obispo. The location would make sense if Mensah wants to move closer to home.
Iowa Hawkeyes
It feels weird listing the Iowa Hawkeyes as a top transfer destination for quarterbacks, but the rest of the offense seemed to improve this year despite inconsistent play at the position.
I still think the Hawkeyes’ reputation as a QB wasteland could make it challenging to land a top passer, but they’ll have the Name, Image, and Likeness funds to at least make a competitive offer.
Ole Miss Rebels
Admittedly, this is a long shot, but I love the idea of Mensah’s skill set in a Lane Kiffin offense. Mensah’s ability to make quick reads and layer throws leads me to think that he could be a superstar under Kiffin’s tutelage.
The Rebels can afford to develop a quarterback, and if Mensah has dreams of playing in the NFL, Ole Miss could be the best place to prepare him for that.
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