Darian Mensah Reveals How Carson Beck, Cam Ward Affected His Decision to Transfer to Miami

Before deciding to transfer from Duke to Miami for his junior season, quarterback Darian Mensah couldn't help but be impressed by the Hurricanes' previous signal-callers.

Miami has proven to be a prime destination for transfer quarterbacks, developing Cam Ward into the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft after his stint at Washington State and having former Georgia star Carson Beck lead the team to its first College Football Playoff appearance and a spot in the national championship game last season.

Mensah wasn't shy to admit that he chose to transfer to Miami in hopes of following in the footsteps of Ward and Beck.

"That was a huge factor, deciding to transfer, seeing what those guys did," Mensah said Wednesday at the ACC Kickoff, per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "My OC [Shannon] Dawson will form the offense around the quarterback, around the stuff he likes to do. That also made it something I wanted to be a part of."

Dawson is returning for his fourth season as the Hurricanes' offensive coordinator. He helped bring out the best in Ward, who led the FBS with 39 touchdown passes in 2024, and Beck, who threw a career-high 30 touchdowns in 2025 before becoming a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

"It was one of the two most important factors as far as transferring goes, just seeing what Dawson's done with those two quarterbacks, it's special," Mensah said.

Mensah spent his freshman season at Tulane before transferring to Duke for the 2025 campaign. He helped lead the Blue Devils on a surprising run to the ACC championship, throwing for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing 66.8 percent of his passes.

"I wanted to compete for a national championship," Mensah said. "I've got a lot of personal goals for myself, and I think Miami was the spot to do that."