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Showcase QB: Confident Darian Mensah Assumes Command of Duke’s Offense
8/27/2025 8:45:00 AM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. -- Nobody under center has swagger like Mensah. Cali swagger. That basketball walk. Whatever you want to call it, Duke quarterback Darian Mensah has it.
"It" certainly isn't self-proclaimed by Mensah, rather it has been recognized by coaches, including his freshman year head coach Willie Fritz at Tulane, where he spent two seasons and starred in 2024 as the QB1 for the Green Wave.
While Mensah may not automatically describe himself as having that swagger, he understands that confidence and a certain — for lack of a better term — arrogance is an important part of being successful at quarterback.
"My freshman year at Tulane, Coach Fritz would always say I got that basketball walk," said Mensah. "It's just kind of having that basketball swagger. You'd hear everyone say it last year when I was playing, that I had that 'Cali swagger.' I feel like those are important parts of playing quarterback — confidence and swagger. That's something I feel basketball helped with."
Mensah, a native of San Luis Obispo, California, played all sports as a young kid with tee-ball, soccer and whatever else his mom Naomi signed him up for eventually falling by the wayside while basketball and football remained a large part of his life into high school.
He said tee-ball just wasn't for him and his twin sister, Grace. Soccer turned out to be Grace's sport as she heads into her junior season as a midfielder at Oregon. If Darian's story holds true, the siblings couldn't get past tee-ball for a reason that might have been a glimpse into their future athletic successes.
"Me and and my sister would hit home runs, and they'd make us go back to first base," Mensah said about why his tee-ball career didn't evolve into a baseball career. "So, we stopped playing after that."
Possessing dreams of playing in the NBA one day, Mensah played basketball in the Under Armour circuit as well as in West Coast Elite, one of 18 members of the Jr. NBA Flagship Network. However, by the time he was 15 years old he had enough self-knowledge and maturity to realize there were a lot of kids who simply were better than him, leaving football as his focus.
"My ceiling was lower (in basketball), and I realized that when I played on the Under Armour circuit and in West Coast Elite," Mensah said. "I realized a lot of these kids are better than me. In football, at that time, I was better than a lot of people I was playing against. So, I thought maybe I should focus all my attention on football rather than basketball."
Mensah took the footwork and that swagger he learned on the basketball court and transferred them fulltime to the football field, and did so with much success.
Following in the footsteps of his uncle who played quarterback, Mensah loves everything about playing the position. He embraces the responsibility and the leadership demands that come with being a starting quarterback. Mensah did have a few stints at wide receiver in flag football and when he transferred high schools while he learned the full playbook, but he knew he was meant to touch the ball on every snap.
"I like everything that comes with it," Mensah said about playing quarterback. "Being the face of your program and taking command of the offense. Whether it's leading in the weight room or on the field to off the field, I just feel like I'm a leader at heart."
His ability to move in and around the pocket as well as his arm strength, combined with his comfort guiding a team on and off the field, landed Mensah at Tulane. After going through a redshirt season in 2023, he earned the starting job in 2024. Mensah quickly made a name for himself, throwing for over 2,700 yards and 22 touchdowns while leading the Green Wave to a 9-5 record, including a 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference.
He averaged 209 yards passing per game, threw multiple touchdowns in eight games and eclipsed 300 yards through the air three times to climb to the top of ESPN's 2025 transfer portal rankings.
Blue Devil head coach Manny Diaz knew Duke would be a perfect match for Mensah, both on and off the field. Duke stands out with what it offers off the gridiron, plus Diaz and the Blue Devils were coming off a nine-win season with an established identity. The attraction was mutual for Duke and Mensah.
"It was the opportunity to showcase my talent on a broader scale," Mensah said about his decision to transfer to Duke. "I've always wanted to play Power 4 football, especially in the ACC, a super competitive conference. I feel like all the pieces aligned with Duke. I could have gone all over the country, but I feel like at Duke we have an elite head coach. We won nine games last year. In this offense, we throw it vertically. Who wouldn't want to play quarterback here?"
Diaz believes the athleticism, mobility and skills Mensah possesses will allow Duke to continue to win a bunch of games.
"It is hard now to not have that mobile element (at quarterback)," said Diaz. "It's not just having that dual threat, it's being able to extend a play. And Darian, for a first-year starter for Tulane — his ability to manipulate a pass rush with his feet, keep his eyes down field, scramble to throw, scramble to run, even just checking it down to make it second-and-6 instead of second-and-10 in terms of game logistics is so different."
Mensah's ability to extend a play was on display at Tulane as he only got sacked 17 times while leading a Green Wave offense that ranked 10th nationally in third down conversion percentage.
"I feel like I'm reactionary enough to thinking it's cover two and then you see them roll to one and then having the reaction to be like, 'This is where I have to go with the ball,'" Mensah said. "My coaches at Tulane told me I have enough arm talent to be able to flip from one read to another one. I feel like it's something not a lot of quarterbacks have, so it's my superpower along with my accuracy. Those are two things that help my game."
There are a trio of quarterbacks Mensah says he watched as individuals who influenced him as a player — all three who excelled with incredible arms and the ability to move well around the pocket.
"I always say CJ Stroud," Mensah said when asked who he models his game after. "But when I was younger, I used to watch a lot of Geno Smith back in his days at West Virginia. I just thought he spun it well and that team was super fun to watch with Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey. And my mom always used to tell me I looked like Russell Wilson when I was younger. I liked the Seahawks and him. Those three dudes for sure."
The football numbers speak for themselves, but it might be Mensah's leadership, and the joy he brings to the field and locker room that might have the largest impact.
"I'm not the dude who is going go out and yell at everybody," Mensah said. "I feel like I lead by example, but I will hold the people around me accountable. It's not like a Tim Tebow, but more of a quieter version of Jameis Winston."
Mensah, with a laidback smile, reflected when asked about how he builds bonds with his teammates, which is paramount to being a successful quarterback.
For him, it's about treating it like family and spending quality time together. That might sometimes mean running extra routes, but ultimately, it's about developing relationships and trust.
"Really it's about just investing all my time — aside from football — in just being with the guys," Mensah said. "Going out to dinner, throwing extra routes, just being with them whenever and wherever I can because I feel like the more time I put in with these guys, the more I will get out of them come game time. I took the receivers to Tampa a couple of weekends ago, so just being with them is the biggest thing. It comes with playing the quarterback position."
Arriving in January, Mensah went right to work in the weight room, the film room and into building his Blue Devil community. Because for him, what he enjoys most is just going out and playing a game he loves with his best friends.
After three months of grinding behind the scenes, Mensah cherished the opportunity to put his game on display in the annual Blue & White Game — a glimpse of what he has on tap for fans this fall. He threw a pair of touchdown passes, leading the offense to a 38-26 win.
"It did feel real," Mensah said about the spring game. "It was awesome to go out in front of the fans and throw some touchdown passes to my guys. It was a surreal feeling for sure, but I just can't wait until August to do it for real. I'm super excited."
Mensah, eschewing the common approach of setting distinct goals prior to a season, enters his second year as a starting quarterback relying on his love of football and his community, which encompasses Duke, his mom, sister and extended family and his hometown in central California.
"I really just want to go out and enjoy my time here at Duke," Mensah said. "I don't want to put any expectations or standards on the season. I want to go out and have fun with my guys next to me and hope that we make this season a special one."
Diaz believes the Blue Devils, through the returners and the new roster additions, have the potential to do just that. He looks forward to seeing the impact transfers Andrel Anthony of Oklahoma and Cooper Barkate from Harvard at wide receiver will have and is excited about the returning personnel in the front seven on defense.
"If we can play great defense and have a great quarterback — a team that does those two things normally wins a bunch of games," Diaz said.
Get ready Duke fans. If Mensah has anything to say about it, it will be an exciting season on Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. That excitement is written all over his 20-year-old face. He is eager to add all Duke fans to his community and he plans to do so with flair.
"I'm a kid from a small town in California and I like to put on a show when I play," Mensah said. "I'm just excited to get into Wallace Wade and interact with the fans and play in front of my mom again and all of my family and put the central coast on the map."
There's a feeling around this team that sooner rather than later, all Duke fans will know where to find San Luis Obispo on a map.
"It" certainly isn't self-proclaimed by Mensah, rather it has been recognized by coaches, including his freshman year head coach Willie Fritz at Tulane, where he spent two seasons and starred in 2024 as the QB1 for the Green Wave.
While Mensah may not automatically describe himself as having that swagger, he understands that confidence and a certain — for lack of a better term — arrogance is an important part of being successful at quarterback.
"My freshman year at Tulane, Coach Fritz would always say I got that basketball walk," said Mensah. "It's just kind of having that basketball swagger. You'd hear everyone say it last year when I was playing, that I had that 'Cali swagger.' I feel like those are important parts of playing quarterback — confidence and swagger. That's something I feel basketball helped with."
Mensah, a native of San Luis Obispo, California, played all sports as a young kid with tee-ball, soccer and whatever else his mom Naomi signed him up for eventually falling by the wayside while basketball and football remained a large part of his life into high school.
He said tee-ball just wasn't for him and his twin sister, Grace. Soccer turned out to be Grace's sport as she heads into her junior season as a midfielder at Oregon. If Darian's story holds true, the siblings couldn't get past tee-ball for a reason that might have been a glimpse into their future athletic successes.
"Me and and my sister would hit home runs, and they'd make us go back to first base," Mensah said about why his tee-ball career didn't evolve into a baseball career. "So, we stopped playing after that."
Possessing dreams of playing in the NBA one day, Mensah played basketball in the Under Armour circuit as well as in West Coast Elite, one of 18 members of the Jr. NBA Flagship Network. However, by the time he was 15 years old he had enough self-knowledge and maturity to realize there were a lot of kids who simply were better than him, leaving football as his focus.
"My ceiling was lower (in basketball), and I realized that when I played on the Under Armour circuit and in West Coast Elite," Mensah said. "I realized a lot of these kids are better than me. In football, at that time, I was better than a lot of people I was playing against. So, I thought maybe I should focus all my attention on football rather than basketball."
Mensah took the footwork and that swagger he learned on the basketball court and transferred them fulltime to the football field, and did so with much success.
Following in the footsteps of his uncle who played quarterback, Mensah loves everything about playing the position. He embraces the responsibility and the leadership demands that come with being a starting quarterback. Mensah did have a few stints at wide receiver in flag football and when he transferred high schools while he learned the full playbook, but he knew he was meant to touch the ball on every snap.
"I like everything that comes with it," Mensah said about playing quarterback. "Being the face of your program and taking command of the offense. Whether it's leading in the weight room or on the field to off the field, I just feel like I'm a leader at heart."
His ability to move in and around the pocket as well as his arm strength, combined with his comfort guiding a team on and off the field, landed Mensah at Tulane. After going through a redshirt season in 2023, he earned the starting job in 2024. Mensah quickly made a name for himself, throwing for over 2,700 yards and 22 touchdowns while leading the Green Wave to a 9-5 record, including a 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference.
He averaged 209 yards passing per game, threw multiple touchdowns in eight games and eclipsed 300 yards through the air three times to climb to the top of ESPN's 2025 transfer portal rankings.
Blue Devil head coach Manny Diaz knew Duke would be a perfect match for Mensah, both on and off the field. Duke stands out with what it offers off the gridiron, plus Diaz and the Blue Devils were coming off a nine-win season with an established identity. The attraction was mutual for Duke and Mensah.
"It was the opportunity to showcase my talent on a broader scale," Mensah said about his decision to transfer to Duke. "I've always wanted to play Power 4 football, especially in the ACC, a super competitive conference. I feel like all the pieces aligned with Duke. I could have gone all over the country, but I feel like at Duke we have an elite head coach. We won nine games last year. In this offense, we throw it vertically. Who wouldn't want to play quarterback here?"
Diaz believes the athleticism, mobility and skills Mensah possesses will allow Duke to continue to win a bunch of games.
"It is hard now to not have that mobile element (at quarterback)," said Diaz. "It's not just having that dual threat, it's being able to extend a play. And Darian, for a first-year starter for Tulane — his ability to manipulate a pass rush with his feet, keep his eyes down field, scramble to throw, scramble to run, even just checking it down to make it second-and-6 instead of second-and-10 in terms of game logistics is so different."
Mensah's ability to extend a play was on display at Tulane as he only got sacked 17 times while leading a Green Wave offense that ranked 10th nationally in third down conversion percentage.
"I feel like I'm reactionary enough to thinking it's cover two and then you see them roll to one and then having the reaction to be like, 'This is where I have to go with the ball,'" Mensah said. "My coaches at Tulane told me I have enough arm talent to be able to flip from one read to another one. I feel like it's something not a lot of quarterbacks have, so it's my superpower along with my accuracy. Those are two things that help my game."
There are a trio of quarterbacks Mensah says he watched as individuals who influenced him as a player — all three who excelled with incredible arms and the ability to move well around the pocket.
"I always say CJ Stroud," Mensah said when asked who he models his game after. "But when I was younger, I used to watch a lot of Geno Smith back in his days at West Virginia. I just thought he spun it well and that team was super fun to watch with Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey. And my mom always used to tell me I looked like Russell Wilson when I was younger. I liked the Seahawks and him. Those three dudes for sure."
The football numbers speak for themselves, but it might be Mensah's leadership, and the joy he brings to the field and locker room that might have the largest impact.
"I'm not the dude who is going go out and yell at everybody," Mensah said. "I feel like I lead by example, but I will hold the people around me accountable. It's not like a Tim Tebow, but more of a quieter version of Jameis Winston."
Mensah, with a laidback smile, reflected when asked about how he builds bonds with his teammates, which is paramount to being a successful quarterback.
For him, it's about treating it like family and spending quality time together. That might sometimes mean running extra routes, but ultimately, it's about developing relationships and trust.
"Really it's about just investing all my time — aside from football — in just being with the guys," Mensah said. "Going out to dinner, throwing extra routes, just being with them whenever and wherever I can because I feel like the more time I put in with these guys, the more I will get out of them come game time. I took the receivers to Tampa a couple of weekends ago, so just being with them is the biggest thing. It comes with playing the quarterback position."
Arriving in January, Mensah went right to work in the weight room, the film room and into building his Blue Devil community. Because for him, what he enjoys most is just going out and playing a game he loves with his best friends.
After three months of grinding behind the scenes, Mensah cherished the opportunity to put his game on display in the annual Blue & White Game — a glimpse of what he has on tap for fans this fall. He threw a pair of touchdown passes, leading the offense to a 38-26 win.
"It did feel real," Mensah said about the spring game. "It was awesome to go out in front of the fans and throw some touchdown passes to my guys. It was a surreal feeling for sure, but I just can't wait until August to do it for real. I'm super excited."
Mensah, eschewing the common approach of setting distinct goals prior to a season, enters his second year as a starting quarterback relying on his love of football and his community, which encompasses Duke, his mom, sister and extended family and his hometown in central California.
"I really just want to go out and enjoy my time here at Duke," Mensah said. "I don't want to put any expectations or standards on the season. I want to go out and have fun with my guys next to me and hope that we make this season a special one."
Diaz believes the Blue Devils, through the returners and the new roster additions, have the potential to do just that. He looks forward to seeing the impact transfers Andrel Anthony of Oklahoma and Cooper Barkate from Harvard at wide receiver will have and is excited about the returning personnel in the front seven on defense.
"If we can play great defense and have a great quarterback — a team that does those two things normally wins a bunch of games," Diaz said.
Get ready Duke fans. If Mensah has anything to say about it, it will be an exciting season on Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. That excitement is written all over his 20-year-old face. He is eager to add all Duke fans to his community and he plans to do so with flair.
"I'm a kid from a small town in California and I like to put on a show when I play," Mensah said. "I'm just excited to get into Wallace Wade and interact with the fans and play in front of my mom again and all of my family and put the central coast on the map."
There's a feeling around this team that sooner rather than later, all Duke fans will know where to find San Luis Obispo on a map.
Players Mentioned
Coach Diaz Media Availability: Tulane
Wednesday, September 10
Darian Mensah Media Availability: Tulane
Tuesday, September 09
Josiah Green Media Availability: Tulane
Tuesday, September 09
Coach Patke Press Conference: Tulane
Monday, September 08
