Darian Mensah and the Duke Blue Devils were just hit with a major blow in the transfer portal.
The Duke Blue Devils won the ACC championship and defeated Arizona State in the Sun Bowl this season on the strength of their dynamic offense, and with quarterback Darian Mensah returning for 2026, the unit is slated to be explosive again.
However, Duke just suffered a pretty big loss in that department.
Upcoming junior wide receiver Que'Sean Brown has decided to enter the transfer portal after a breakout campaign with the Blue Devils, a significant blow for Duke offensively.
Brown hauled in 64 receptions for 846 yards and five touchdown as the team's No. 2 receiver behind Cooper Barkate in 2025 and saved his best game of the year for the Sun Bowl, when he logged 10 catches for 178 yards and a couple of scores.
The 5-foot-8 burner arrived at Durham in 2024 and had a solid freshman campaign, catching 41 passes for 445 yards while reaching the end zone twice.
Obviously, Brown showed significant improvement this season, which should make him a very attractive option in the portal.
Que'Sean Brown. Credit: Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.The Blue Devils did cushion the blow by adding former Pennsylvania wide receiver Jared Richardson — who posted a 1,000-yard campaign for the Quakers this past year — in the portal, but it definitely stings to lose a proven piece like Brown.
Duke has landed commits from 11 transfers in total this winter but has also said goodbye to 14 players, so head coach Manny Diaz still has his work cut out for him.
While the departure of Brown is certainly tough, the Blue Devils' biggest concern is actually on the defensive side of the ball, where they ranked toward the bottom of the ACC in 2025.
Duke went 9-5 on the season overall, winning its first outright conference title since 1962. The Blue Devils were a bit inconsistent throughout the year, but have absolutely established themselves as legitimate threats moving forward.
Diaz has gone 18-9 over his first two seasons at the helm in Durham. Previously, he went 21-15 over three years at Miami.
Meanwhile, as a program as a whole, Duke has made it to four straight bowl games, equaling a school record. We'll see if the Blue Devils continue to improve next season.