After transferring from Duke in the offseason, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah is adjusting to new surroundings
For a second straight season, the Miami Hurricanes have a high-profile quarterback transfer.
So far, Darian Mensah has lived up to expectations. According to Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal, Mensah is fitting right in with his new teammates. UM just completed its Spring Game Saturday in Coral Gables.
"We're pleased with progress," Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. "We still have a long ways to go. You saw some really accurate, long, difficulty, high-degree difficulty throws today that he hit and a couple of others that you have to come up with. When you throw the ball deep in man coverage, if it's on target you've got to get there. Other times, you'd like to have some plays back. But all in all to have your quarterback take all of spring practice and be here for winter workout, it's a tremendous advantage. I think it showed up today. We're expecting him to take another step."
Mensah transferred from Duke in the offseason. He follows the lead of Carson Beck, who was at Georgia before joining the Hurricanes. The hope is Mensah can have similar success as Beck, who led Miami to the College Football Playoff title game. The Hurricanes lost to the Indiana Hoosiers but big things are once again expected.
They return big-time receiver Malachi Toney and running back Mark Fletcher Jr., which should give the Hurricanes a three-headed monster on offense. It also helps that Mensah helped recruit other talent with him. When he announced his transfer, it led to Duke receiver Cooper Barkate also following him. Last year Barkate caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns.
He gives the offense even more power.
“On the field, the first thing I’d say is how poised he [Mensah] is,” Barkate said. “He’s always calm and collected in the big moments and really any game. That’s probably the biggest thing and obviously, his athletic talent.”
Some are thinking this could be the best Hurricanes offense in history.
"I wouldn't label or judge or rate anything until games are played," Cristobal said. "How many times do you see again, Top 25 preseason and half of those teams don't even make it to a postseason bowl. There's no judgment. We recognize that we have pieces that are coming together. We recognized that we have enhanced the talent in several areas and we're working on depth in others. But we have a long way to go. We're very encouraged, we're very enthused about it but these guys have no reason, no right to hear any praise about where they are right now. They've done nothing, absolutely nothing. We intend to have the most challenging and most productive offseason of our time here at Miami."
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of MiamiRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com