Tulane Green Wave Quarterback Darian Mensah a Name To Watch in Transfer Portal
The Tulane Green Wave was one of the most pleasant surprises in college football during the 2024 season.
They played well in early season matchups against the Kansas State Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners despite losing both contests. After dropping to 1-2 on the year, they pulled off an impressive eight-game winning streak when they dominated all of their opponents.
Alas, the end of the regular season and subsequent American Athletic Conference Championship Game did not go as planned. After losing to the Memphis Tigers on Thanksgiving night to lose home-field advantage for the title game, they traveled to take on the Army West Point Black Knights and were blown out 35-14.
One of the reasons that the team had as successful of a campaign as they did was the performance of redshirt freshman quarterback, Darian Mensah.
Coming into offseason practice, he was thought to be the No. 3 option behind transfer and former five-star prospect Ty Thompson and veteran Kai Horton. But, he won the job with his stellar performance, proving the coaching staff made the right decision each passing week.
His 65.9 completion percentage, 9.5 yards gained per attempt, 10.08 adjusted yards gained per attempt and 166.7 rating were all tops in the AAC. He threw for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns with only six interceptions across 13 games.
Mensah wasn’t a highly sought-after recruit coming out of high school. Tulane was the only school to offer the two-star prospect along with Idaho State and Lindenwood and he spent his first year on campus as the scout team quarterback.
After seeing how well he played this year, it was a clear miss for the bigger schools. But, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg of ESPN believe that they could come calling this time around.
The Green Wave emerging star was listed by them as one of the top targets that power conference schools could target on the transfer portal. He hasn’t announced that he is leaving Tulane, but there could be some factors at play that will change that.
“Sumrall and Tulane OC Joe Craddock have been popular names for several Power 4 vacancies so far. If either one gets an opportunity they can't turn down, would Mensah go with them? Tulane was able to keep Michael Pratt out of the portal throughout his decorated career. Can they afford to hold onto Mensah? If he does test his portal options, he'll be extremely popular,” as written at ESPN.
He will be a name to keep an eye on, especially if either of his coaches get promoted to bigger schools.
Mensah showed that he can handle his own against tougher competition, too. In the games against Kansas State and Oklahoma, he completed 33-of-61 passes for 508 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The more experience he gains, the better he will be, too. With three years of eligibility remaining, he would be a massive addition to any school looking for stability under center should he even want to leave the Green Wave.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.