From Miami Hurricanes On SI · · 2m
Darian Mensah Is Missing Almost Nothing
Five quarters into his Miami career, the transfer quarterback has thrown four incompletions and sits atop the Heisman race.
In brief
Five quarters into his Miami career, the transfer quarterback has thrown four incompletions and sits atop the Heisman race. Mensah's start is close to perfect on paper, but he knows the real read on this team comes when something finally goes wrong. Originally reported by Miami Hurricanes On SI.
Four misses in five quarters
Through two games, Darian Mensah has been on the field for only five quarters and has thrown just four incompletions. No. 7 Miami has another elite quarterback.
Why Miami chased him
The Hurricanes fought hard to pull Mensah out of Duke in the offseason. Two games in, the transfer is paying that back with Heisman-level play.
A night that ended early
Against Florida A&M he went 14-for-15 for 252 yards and three touchdowns, then watched the rest from the sideline. The lone miss bounced off Mark Fletcher Jr.'s hands.
He credited the line
Florida A&M showed heavy blitz looks on tape and brought them again on the night. Mensah pointed at protection, not his own arm, when asked what worked.
“They brought a lot of blitz and showed a lot of blitzes on tape, and so I think our O-line did a great job executing that.”
41 of 45, zero picks
On the season he is 41-of-45 for eight touchdowns with no interceptions. He and Malachi Toney are trading the Heisman lead through week two.
Paying back the fans
Canes supporters backed Mensah from the moment he transferred in, before he had thrown a pass for them. Delivering on the field is how he says thanks.
“Canes fans were very supportive of me when I first got here, and so to kind of give that back on the field, with my plays, means a lot to me.”
Exactly what he expected
This is not a surprise to him. Mensah says the start is simply the job he signed up for, and the numbers make the confidence hard to argue with.
“That's what I came here to do. I'm doing it.”
Wake Forest next, on the road
Miami travels for its second conference game against a dangerous ACC opponent. Mensah faced Wake Forest last season with Duke, so he knows what is coming.
Waiting for the bad night
Nothing has gone wrong yet, and that is the part he is watching for. Mensah thinks adversity is the only thing that will show what this team actually is.
“It's awesome that things are going well, but I think adversity is when your team grows and shows the true colors of your team.”
What to remember
Mensah's start is close to perfect on paper, but he knows the real read on this team comes when something finally goes wrong.
