CHARLOTTE, NC -- Miami quarterback Darian Mensah called his decision to leave Duke on the final day of the transfer portal in January a "business decision," but for his former teammates, the decision felt a lot more emotional.
Tailback Nate Sheppard called Mensah's abrupt exit "surprising" and "crazy," and coach Manny Diaz said the decision nearly upended the entire roster.
"It was turbulent," Diaz said. "All of them got called [by other teams] and the whole thing could've gone kaput. The leadership of our guys to hold tight and stay was massive. I think they were shaken, but they believe now."
Diaz compared the situation to former coach Mike Elko's exit for Texas A&M and former QB Riley Leonard's departure for Notre Dame following the 2023 season, with a rattled locker room and a host of potential transfers left hanging in the balance.
"Everyone was surprised," Diaz said of Mensah's decision to enter the portal after having previously reaffirmed his commitment -- along with a two-year contract he'd signed before the 2025 season -- to stay at Duke.
Diaz said he was aware teams had come after Mensah to transfer earlier in the portal window, but after exploring his NFL options, the quarterback had informed Duke he'd be back for 2026. On the final day of the portal window, however, Diaz said he began to hear rumors of Mensah's potential exit that morning, "and once there's some smoke, it wasn't hard to figure out," he said.
Mensah, along with receiver Cooper Barkate, both exited for Miami, with the Hurricanes reportedly offering a massive contract to the quarterback who led Duke to the 2025 ACC championship.
But despite the reported raise, Mensah said Wednesday that it was actually his contract at Duke -- reportedly a two-year deal worth $8 million -- that had been an issue, unlike his new deal at Miami.
"It's a huge credit to [my teammates] because stepping into [the Miami] locker room was pretty easy. Usually it's not. At Duke it wasn't easy to do that," Mensah told ESPN. "At Duke there was kind of some friction when I first got there because my dollar amount was released. Everybody sees that, and it was just hard for me to be the new guy, and everybody said, 'Oh you're getting paid more than me and I've been here for X amount of years.' At Miami, the culture is different, and it just feels like family and actually feels like I'm at home."
That, tight end Jeremiah Hasley said, is revisionist history.
"No, Darian's contract was no problem in the locker room," Hasley said. "He was a great quarterback for us. He earned everything he got. There was never a problem."
Whether there are hard feelings now is a different story.
Sheppard, who ran for 1,132 yards for the Blue Devils last season, said the team felt betrayed after the news of Mensah and Barkate's departures was initially released.
"It's like wow, that they would come and do something like that," Sheppard said. "But after it was confirmed that he was leaving, it was kind of like, you know, we'll discuss it for a minute, and then it's over with. There's turnover every year in college football, so it is what it is."
Mensah said he was aware his decision would potentially upset his former teammates, but at this week's ACC kickoff event, he said he ultimately wanted to chase a national title and develop his skill set in a more pro-style offense.
"It's hard to leave your guys," Mensah said. "I went through a lot with them, made lifelong friendships with some guys on that team. It's hard to leave people you love. But at the end of the day, business is business."