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By Tyler Erzberger
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The Miami Hurricanes are not satisfied with being the second-best team in college football.
After losing to Indiana in their home stadium Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship, head coach Mario Cristobal is on a mission to reload for next season.
While other teams were open to maneuvering in the transfer window over the past few weeks, the Hurricanes were on the back foot as they progressed in the tournament toward the grandest prize in the sport. The more the team succeeded on the field, the less time they had to spend on building for the future.
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With starting quarterback Carson Beck gone and the top-ten quarterbacks in the portal all committed to schools, it felt as if Cristobal and the Hurricanes might have to look inward or think outside the box for their signal-caller in 2026.
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But that's when Duke's QB Darian Mensah wanted to declare for the portal, with the Hurricanes instantly linked to the man who threw for the second-most yards and touchdowns last year in the FBS.
The only issue was that Mensah signed a two-year NIL deal with the team he just led to the ACC championship. If he went to the NFL, that would have been one thing, but transferring to another program seemed unlikely unless that school bought out his contract with the Blue Devils.
But as the clock turned to midnight on the East Coast, Mensah was seemingly finally permitted to enter with the Hurricanes as heavy favorites to install him as their new starter.
If that was all, it'd be considered a massive win for Cristobal and Miami's silver medalists.
Yet, there's somehow more.
Mensah's No. 1 target, wide receiver Cooper Barkate, also reportedly entered the transfer portal, with Miami seen as the destination to play alongside his QB.
The Hurricanes, already having freshman phenom Malachi Toney, who was fifth in receiving yards in the most recent season, would team him up with Barkate, who was two spots behind in seventh.
If you add star running back Mark Fletcher Jr., the addition of the two Duke players would give Miami one of the strongest quartets to build an offense around in the entire country. Mensah would have two future NFL wide receivers to throw to on every down with a future NFL running back behind him to vary up the playcalling.
Although neither has officially signed or even committed to the Hurricanes, Mensah and Barkate seem to be a package deal with whichever program they choose.
If it's the Hurricanes, watch out, the team you saw on Monday might not even be their final form.
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