Darian Mensah currently unable to enroll at new school after judge grants Duke TRO
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Darian Mensah’s transfer process is in a holding pattern after a recent court decision.
Duke sued Mensah after the Blue Devil quarterback entered the transfer portal despite signing a compensation agreement to return for the 2026 season. Duke’s request to bar Mensah from entering the transfer portal was denied on Tuesday. On Wednesday, however, Duke’s temporary restraining order was granted.
Mensah can enter the portal, but he is unable to enroll at a new school under the TRO until his preliminary injunction hearing is held. That hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2. Without being enrolled, Mensah is unable to join his next football team. The TRO also prevents him from licensing his name, image and likeness rights at any other school until after next month’s hearing.
Court has now released the TRO in Duke v. Darian Mensah https://t.co/PFQIfHo4xW pic.twitter.com/S0StFFLbMS
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) January 21, 2026
Last week, Miami was named the early favorite to land Mensah. Miami, Tennessee and Ole Miss were named 3 possible destinations, but the Vols decided not to pursue the Duke quarterback.
Mensah had a standout season with the Blue Dvils, completing 66.8% of his passes for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns with just 6 interceptions. Veteran transfer quarterbacks Cam Ward and Carson Beck helped the Hurricanes go 23-6 over the past two seasons under Mario Cristobal.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
