Tulane Quarterback Darian Mensah Flashes Elite Traits in Debut
Tulane dismantled Southeastern Louisiana in their opening game, beating the Lions by a score of 52-0 in a game that was never really close. Tulane redshirt freshman quarterback starred in his debut, completing 10/12 of his passes for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. While fans should expect this kind of statistical performance from their quarterback against an FCS school, Mensah’s process should leave Tulane fans excited.
Mensah’s best play came in the red zone with 10:33 left in the second quarter on a 3rd-and-9 from the 16-yard line, where he completed a 14-yard pass to tight end Alex Bauman on the left sideline. On this play, Mensah dropped back, stepped up in the pocket, and escaped to his left side.
After escaping the pocket, most young quarterbacks would have taken off and attempted to pick up the first down with their legs: not Darian Mensah. Instead, Mensah kept his eyes downfield and hit Bauman on the run, who was releasing up the left sideline for a first down.
Mensah’s ability to keep his eyes downfield on a busted play is what separates good quarterbacks from great quarterbacks in today’s game. Even highly drafted NFL quarterbacks can struggle to do this. It’s the reason Justin Fields didn’t work out in Chicago and is now backing up Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh.
Additionally, Mensah’s ability to sense the pressure around him and escape without taking his eyes away from the play is scarce in such a young, inexperienced quarterback. This ability is a large part of what made Tom Brady so good in New England and why Derek Carr struggled in his first season in New Orleans. Seeing this in Darian Mensah’s first career start explains why the staff had the confidence to start him and should make Tulane fans excited for the young quarterback’s future with Tulane.
JOHN BURROWS