Duke acted quickly to land its new quarterback.
According to multiple reports including Rivals’ Devils Illustrated, former Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah has committed to the Blue Devils. Mensah visited Duke on Tuesday and his imminent arrival comes as Duke’s 2024 starter, Maalik Murphy, entered the transfer portal Monday night.
Mensah was one of the best quarterbacks available, so far, in the transfer portal. He won the starting job in the offseason for the Green Wave and completed 189 of 287 passes for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Mensah was a two-star recruit in the class of 2023 out of California, but he earned the starting job over former Oregon quarterback Ty Thompson and Kai Horton. Horton had played 14 games for the Green Wave over the past three seasons.
Tulane reached the AAC title game, but missed a shot at the College Football Playoff thanks to a two-game losing streak late in the season. The Green Wave went 9-2 after an eight-game winning streak, but lost on Thanksgiving Day to Memphis and then was defeated by Army in the AAC title game to finish 9-4. The Green Wave is set to play Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Murphy spent just one season at Duke after transferring from Texas. Murphy was Texas’ No. 2 quarterback in 2023 and transferred before the College Football Playoff. In his season as the Blue Devils’ starter, he completed 60% of his passes for 2,933 yards and 26 TDs.
Duke went 9-3 in 2024 and will play Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl. Henry Belin IV will start that game for the Blue Devils, as Grayson Loftis is also in the transfer portal.