Tulane quarterback who chewed up USF takes a ride on the transfer portal to Duke

USF’s trip to Tulane last September proved to be one of the darkest days of the season for the Bulls.

They lost starting quarterback Byrum Brown to an injury from which he has not returned. That, of course, was the game's big story for USF fans. It overshadowed the fact that Tulane redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah carved up the Bulls, completing 18 of 22 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns.

Well, USF doesn’t have to worry about a repeat of that the next time they play Tulane. Mensah used the transfer portal to join the Duke Blue Devils, where he will have three years of eligibility remaining.

It’s a huge blow for Tulane.

Mensah completed 65.9 percent of his passes this season for 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He led the Green Wave to their third consecutive appearance in the American Athletic Conference championship game, where they were throttled by Army 35-14.

Mensah threw a pair of scoring passes in that game.

He was ESPN’s top-rated quarterback in the portal.

His rapid ascension was one of college football’s top stories of the year.

After he redshirted in 2023, he entered training camp listed third on Tulane’s depth chart. The Green Wave had five-star Oregon transfer Ty Thompson and holdover Kai  Horton ahead of him, but Mensah won the job in camp and never let it go.

After Tulane’s loss in the AAC title game, he entered the portal and immediately attracted a lot of attention. One visit to Duke was all he needed, however, and he quickly committed.

Duke Wire reported that as part of his visit, he attended a Blue Devils basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the Cameron Crazies chanted his name during the second half.

That may have sealed the deal.

WXII TV shared a video of Mensah joining the fans in the stands.

Tulane is expected to go with Thompson as its starting quarterback in the Gasparilla Bowl against Florida