Miami quarterback Darian Mensah will enter his first season with the Hurricanes as the ACC’s preseason player of the year.
Mensah received 97 votes from the 188 media members who participated, according to the ACC’s official release. His total easily surpassed the combined 56 votes received by the next three players: SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings, Louisville running back Isaac Brown and NC State quarterback CJ Bailey.
The vote puts a clear number on the expectations that followed Mensah from Duke to Miami. He led the ACC with 3,973 passing yards and 34 touchdown passes in 2025, finished second nationally in both categories and guided Duke to its first ACC championship since 1989. He also earned MVP honors in the ACC championship game and Sun Bowl.
Mensah earned 112 votes at quarterback to make the preseason All-ACC team, a separate ballot from the player of the year race. The gap in the individual voting stands out because he has yet to play a snap for Miami. Voters are projecting his Duke production into a Hurricanes offense with a different staff, supporting cast and level of weekly attention.
Miami has received the same kind of confidence as a team. The Hurricanes were picked as the overwhelming favorite to win the ACC one day before the conference announced its individual honors. Mensah’s selection makes the preseason message consistent: Media voters expect Miami to have the league’s best team and its most valuable player.
The conference also gave Miami nine spots on its preseason team, the most in the ACC. Malachi Toney accounted for three of them at receiver, all-purpose player and specialist. Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and guard Samson Okunlola joined Mensah on offense, while defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr., linebacker Mohamed Toure and safety Bryce Fitzgerald represented the defense.
Miami’s depth should give Mensah a better chance to meet the projection. Toney gives him a proven multipurpose target, Fletcher can keep defenses from treating every important down as a passing situation and Miami’s defensive selections can create more possessions. Mensah does not have to reproduce his Duke season by carrying the same type of load.
The honor still places him at the center of Miami’s season. The Hurricanes are moving into the ACC’s new nine-game conference schedule while trying to turn last season’s College Football Playoff championship-game run into the program’s first league title. A transfer quarterback on his third school will direct that attempt after the conference’s voters made him the favorite before August.
Preseason awards do not guarantee the timing or chemistry that a new offense needs. Mensah will have to build both while opponents study a full season of Duke film and adjust to his strengths. Miami’s roster gives him answers, but it also removes any room for the Hurricanes to treat this as a transition year.
Mensah’s first chance to validate the vote comes in the opener at Stanford, where Miami has climbed to a 23.5-point favorite. The ACC has already told him what it expects long before that first drive.
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