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Mel Kiper Jr. reveals key for Darian Mensah to 'do great things' at Miami

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh05/06/26griffin_mcveigh

For the third straight year, NFL teams are going to be closely watching quarterback play at Miami. Head coach Mario Cristobal brought in Darian Mensah via the NCAA transfer portal, replacing Carson Beck. Before Beck was Cam Ward, who went No. 1 overall. If Mensah can put together a nice season in Coral Gables, he would be the third straight Hurricanes QB to be drafted.

He certainly already has the eye of Mel Kiper Jr. The ESPN draft analyst believes Mensah is set up for success at Miami, mainly due to the weapons in the program. But one guy stands out more than any when it comes to Mensah being comfortable. And it’s somebody the quarterback is already quite familiar with.

“Comes from Duke,” Kiper said of Mensah. “Brings Cooper Barkate, his go-to receiver, with him, Duke to Miami… He can layer the football; he’s very accurate. He had a big-time career going to Tulane, did things at Duke, and is going to do great things at Miami, taking over for Carson Beck. Because guess what? That offensive line will be rebuilt, he’s going to have to skill players all over the place. Barkate joining (Malachi) Toney. Mark Fletcher Jr. returns at running back after a great year.”

Barkate exploded onto the scene in 2025 after beginning his career at Harvard. Duke took him out of the transfer portal, only to get immediate results. In 14 games played, Barkate caught 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns on 72 receptions. He helped the Blue Devils put up 34.6 points per game alongside Mensah.

If you are Miami, that kind of connection would be enough to build all kinds of excitement. But Toney is already an established player after breaking out as a true freshman with 1,211 yards. We have never seen the Hurricanes deploy two 1,000-yard receivers on the same roster.

Kiper mentions Fletcher, who comes back as the lead back. Teams are going to have to respect Miami running the ball with him in the backfield. Especially when Cristobal is the head coach and is looking to win with physicality.

What we did not get from Kiper is a current projection on where Mensah might fall in the 2027 NFL Draft. He believes the opportunity to put up a quality campaign is right in front of Mensah. Miami seems primed to be in the national spotlight for most of the year as well, looking to make another College Football Playoff run.