Tulane QB Darian Mensah enters the Portal

[BS85]

Can’t help but see some Cam Ward in his game watching highlights.

A lot of similar tools. Could be like getting Ward in his first year at Wazzu

 

[JayCane20]

See here before you freak out:

Said the same in prior posts. Just saying I think he's a similar playing style to Cam, not the same talent level. I'm saying I think you'd be looking at something like the 3rd year version of Ward - you obviously can't compare him to the 5th year version. Mensah should grow and improve. The raw arm talent will never be there at that level though.

When you look at raw stats though he's the only one in the portal, and likely the only one that enters this cycle in the same stratosphere. Attempting to take out volume from the equation:

Yards per attempt - 9.5 - Cam - Also 9.5 (3rd and 4th in the country)
QBR - 166.7 - Cam - 171.1 (6th and 4th in the country)
TD% - 7.7% - Cam 8.3% (13th and 8th in the country)

The only other comparable from a stats perspective would be John Mateer or Sawyer Robertson.

 

[Bunker Mentality]

Said the same in prior posts. Just saying I think he's a similar playing style to Cam, not the same talent level. I'm saying I think you'd be looking at something like the 3rd year version of Ward - you obviously can't compare him to the 5th year version. Mensah should grow and improve. The raw arm talent will never be there at that level though.

When you look at raw stats though he's the only one in the portal, and likely the only one that enters this cycle in the same stratosphere. Attempting to take out volume from the equation:

Yards per attempt - 9.5 - Cam - Also 9.5 (3rd and 4th in the country)
QBR - 166.7 - Cam - 171.1 (6th and 4th in the country)
TD% - 7.7% - Cam 8.3% (13th and 8th in the country)

The only other comparable from a stats perspective would be John Mateer or Sawyer Robertson.

We have to put the numbers in context of what he's asked to do; one could be a Triple option QB from GT and have the same numbers with very few attempts. I looked for film and he doesn't seem like a volume passer, which is probably why it's so hard to find.

Year 4 from Mario's team building perspective should be the "win big" year, and progress would mean an ACCCG; we shouldn't be looking for another developmental QB when we have 2-3 on the roster.

 

[JayCane20]

We have to put the numbers in context of what he's asked to do; one could be a Triple option QB from GT and have the same numbers with very few attempts. I looked for film and he doesn't seem like a volume passer, which is probably why it's so hard to find.

Year 4 from Mario's team building perspective should be the "win big" year, and progress would be ACCCG; we shouldn't be looking for another developmental QB when we have 2-3 on the roster.

No we shouldn't but the same story at QB as everywhere else on the team.. holes everywhere and a clear lack of development if some guys don't start taking the next step into their junior seasons.

I'm sure there's a plan and working something behind the scenes. But we shall see

 

[TwentySix]

We have to put the numbers in context of what he's asked to do; one could be a Triple option QB from GT and have the same numbers with very few attempts. I looked for film and he doesn't seem like a volume passer, which is probably why it's so hard to find.

Year 4 from Mario's team building perspective should be the "win big" year, and progress would mean an ACCCG; we shouldn't be looking for another developmental QB when we have 2-3 on the roster.

I know at least their full games against Army, Oklahoma, and K State are all on YouTube if you really just want to watch.

 

[Bunker Mentality]

No we shouldn't but the same story at QB as everywhere else on the team.. holes everywhere and a clear lack of development if some guys don't start taking the next step into their junior seasons.

I'm sure there's a plan and working something behind the scenes. But we shall see

Last year Mario landed Cam Ward without proof of concept after TVD.

This year we had the #1 offense by yards and scoring in the country with Cam becoming a Heisman finalist.

We should be able to get any QB we want based on results and the fact that we'll pay more than everyone else.

Our trenches will be better by talent acquisition and development alone. Someone might want us to fix the defense before they commit, but our offensive system is proven and should be very attractive.

 

[Notsince1985]

@Notsince1985 what is your full opinion on Mensah? You know him better than anyone on here.

I think he's good, not great. He was protected a lot by the coaches this year. They didn't ask him to do too much, and Tulane was a run first offense with Makhi Hughes. He wasn't, at least this year, someone you wanted throwing it 30-40 times a game. An ideal game was him throwing it 17-20 times and them running for 200+ yards. He will obviously play with better talent at a Miami, but it's not like Tulane had Ball State talent. Tulane had Mario Williams (from Oklahoma and USC) who almost had 1,000 yards and Yulkeith Brown from TAMU (and Miami Central). He threw 4 of his 6 INTs in games they lost, and 2 at times when they could have tied or gone ahead (K-State, Oklahoma, Memphis, Army). He can scramble. He's not a running QB. He frustrated me like Ward at the beginning of the year when he refused to scramble even when he had 10-20 yards of open space. He did a much better job at the end of the year of scrambling when it was there. He throws a nice deep ball, and did have some throws into tight spaces where you said, "Wow, this guy is a freshman?" A lot of his completions on middle range outs or crossing stuff were WIDE OPEN because Rice, UAB and Charlotte DB's looked like FCS guys trying to cover Tulane WRs.

I think he can develop into a solid QB, but he's more of a Michael Pratt than a Cam Ward (I know there's no other Cam Ward, I just meant style of play). I honestly have no idea how he would do in a pass first offense. One other thing that would give me pause, are some of the stories that I've heard of how he handled his departure from Tulane. He was supposed to have a meeting with Tulane's NIL collective (as did all the players they thought were flight risks). He kept putting them off saying he was concentrating on the AAC Championship Game. It's obvious now he just didn't want to meet with them. He left the Army game in West Point with his agent, not the team. He basically cleaned out his locker in the middle of the night, and ghosted the NIL guys on the zoom. He didn't tell a single person, not even a single coach he was headed to the portal. Coach Sumrall found out when a player saw it on Mensah's agent's IG story. They were already back in California while Tulane was having a meeting to announce the bowl with Florida. Now, I've met his parents, and they seemed like wonderful people, and legitimately thankful Tulane gave him this shot (only D-I offer I believe), but his agent (works for Lil Wayne) is a scumbag, and he's being influenced by the wrong people.

All of that to say, he wouldn't be my first, second or maybe even third choice. I wouldn't be mad if ended up at Miami, but if Miami is trying to get anything close to a Cam Ward, he's not it.

 

[JayCane20]

Last year Mario landed Cam Ward without proof of concept after TVD.

This year we had the #1 offense by yards and scoring in the country with Cam becoming a Heisman finalist.

We should be able to get any QB we want based on results and the fact that we'll pay more than everyone else.

Our trenches will be better by talent acquisition and development alone. Someone might want us to fix the defense before they commit, but our offensive system is proven and should be very attractive.

Very true. But also a very different landscape than a year ago where 4 or 5 of the top 10 QBs in the country hit the portal.

Not nearly the same group available this year unless it surprises me.

Ward, Howard, Gabriel, Leonard, McCord, etc look like they will all be better than the best QB in the portal this cycle.

Mateer, Robertson, Hoover, and Sellers or something like that would all have to enter to get the equivalent of last year.

 

[Bunker Mentality]

I know at least their full games against Army, Oklahoma, and K State are all on YouTube if you really just want to watch.

I've seen some highlights and keep waiting to see something that never happens. I don't see skills or playmaking that equates to []__[] having the best offense in the country and winning a conference championship next season.

Mateer, Raiola, and Jackson Arnold are at a different level. We should have the ambition and enough money to secure someone better than him.

Again, we already have developmental QBs on the roster.

 

[TwentySix]

I've seen some highlights and keep waiting to see something that never happens. I don't see skills or playmaking that equates to []__[] having the best offense in the country and winning a conference championship next season.

Mateer, Raiola, and Jackson Arnold are at a different level. We should have the ambition and enough money to secure someone better than him.

Again, we already have developmental QBs on the roster.

I think there’s a wide gap between Mateer and the field too, to be clear. Until Raiola enters I’m not even including him. I haven’t fully dove in on Arnold, but he’s going to Mississippi State anyway.

I do think Mensah has some good escapability in the pocket and while I don’t think he has a Cam level arm, I don’t see how the playstyle doesn’t strike people as very similar. And as I’ve said before, that’s good and bad.

Like @JayCane20 said. This year’s class isn’t the same as last year’s. We can’t use that as the barometer. If we’re not doing everything we can to get Mateer it’s a massive mistake. But if we don’t get him, Mensah is as good an option as any of the others in my opinion, and I’d definitely take him over the options on the roster.

 

[Bunker Mentality]

I think he's good, not great. He was protected a lot by the coaches this year. They didn't ask him to do too much, and Tulane was a run first offense with Makhi Hughes. He wasn't, at least this year, someone you wanted throwing it 30-40 times a game. An ideal game was him throwing it 17-20 times and them running for 200+ yards. ... A lot of his completions on middle range outs or crossing stuff were WIDE OPEN because Rice, UAB and Charlotte DB's looked like FCS guys trying to cover Tulane WRs.

All of that to say, he wouldn't be my first, second or maybe even third choice. I wouldn't be mad if ended up at Miami, but if Miami is trying to get anything close to a Cam Ward, he's not it.

Excellent post!

The WIDE OPEN completions stood out to me as well.

 

[Squid Bumciorek]

I think there’s a wide gap between Mateer and the field too, to be clear. Until Raiola enters I’m not even including him. I haven’t fully dove in on Arnold, but he’s going to Mississippi State anyway.

I do think Mensah has some good escapability in the pocket and while I don’t think he has a Cam level arm, I don’t see how the playstyle doesn’t strike people as very similar. And as I’ve said before, that’s good and bad.

Like @JayCane20 said. This year’s class isn’t the same as last year’s. We can’t use that as the barometer. If we’re not doing everything we can to get Mateer it’s a massive mistake. But if we don’t get him, Mensah is as good an option as any of the others in my opinion, and I’d definitely take him over the options on the roster.

Rayliotta’s TD/INT ratio is horrific. Nearly 1:1. It’s Mateer then everyone else.

 

[TwentySix]

Rayliotta’s TD/INT ratio is horrific. Nearly 1:1. It’s Mateer then everyone else.

Yeah I more meant I haven’t taken the time to compare them to the second tier, not Mateer.

 

[Gi0logy]

I think there’s a wide gap between Nateer and the field too, to be clear. Until Raiola enters I’m not even including him. I haven’t fully dove in on Arnold, but he’s going to Mississippi State anyway.

I do think Mensah has some good escapability in the pocket and while I don’t think he has a Cam level arm, I don’t see how the playstyle doesn’t strike people as very similar. And as I’ve said before, that’s good and bad.

Like @JayCane20 said. This year’s class isn’t the same as last year’s. We can’t use that as the barometer. If we’re not doing everything we can to get Mateer it’s a massive mistake. But if we don’t get him, Mensah is as good an option as any of the others in my opinion, and I’d definitely take him over the options on the roster.

The question is - if we don't get Mateer or Mensah, is it worth splurging on a QB that is marginally better than an Emory versus investing that in overhauling the defense?

I may get roasted for thinking that as we really haven't seen enough of Emory. I acknowledge that I'm probably wrong here but I'm just not convinced the Weigman, Moss, Maalik's of the world are significantly better than Emory. That's more an indictment on the overall talent pool in the QB portal as opposed to my thoughts on Emory's ceiling.

 

[Bunker Mentality]

I think there’s a wide gap between Mateer and the field too, to be clear. Until Raiola enters I’m not even including him. I haven’t fully dove in on Arnold, but he’s going to Mississippi State anyway.

I do think Mensah has some good escapability in the pocket and while I don’t think he has a Cam level arm, I don’t see how the playstyle doesn’t strike people as very similar. And as I’ve said before, that’s good and bad.

Like @JayCane20 said. This year’s class isn’t the same as last year’s. We can’t use that as the barometer. If we’re not doing everything we can to get Mateer it’s a massive mistake. But if we don’t get him, Mensah is as good an option as any of the others in my opinion, and I’d definitely take him over the options on the roster.

There needs to be a more clear separation between him (or anyone they bring in) and #17.

Mensah could turn into an absolute monster in the right system, but we shouldn't be on a short list of destinations with Duke.

Arnold signing to Miss St. is odd considering they were 2-10 without a conference win; he can do much better. I think we are willing to set the QB market again, so maybe it's Mateer or bust.

 

[hurricaneman]

I think he's good, not great. He was protected a lot by the coaches this year. They didn't ask him to do too much, and Tulane was a run first offense with Makhi Hughes. He wasn't, at least this year, someone you wanted throwing it 30-40 times a game. An ideal game was him throwing it 17-20 times and them running for 200+ yards. He will obviously play with better talent at a Miami, but it's not like Tulane had Ball State talent. Tulane had Mario Williams (from Oklahoma and USC) who almost had 1,000 yards and Yulkeith Brown from TAMU (and Miami Central). He threw 4 of his 6 INTs in games they lost, and 2 at times when they could have tied or gone ahead (K-State, Oklahoma, Memphis, Army). He can scramble. He's not a running QB. He frustrated me like Ward at the beginning of the year when he refused to scramble even when he had 10-20 yards of open space. He did a much better job at the end of the year of scrambling when it was there. He throws a nice deep ball, and did have some throws into tight spaces where you said, "Wow, this guy is a freshman?" A lot of his completions on middle range outs or crossing stuff were WIDE OPEN because Rice, UAB and Charlotte DB's looked like FCS guys trying to cover Tulane WRs.

I think he can develop into a solid QB, but he's more of a Michael Pratt than a Cam Ward (I know there's no other Cam Ward, I just meant style of play). I honestly have no idea how he would do in a pass first offense. One other thing that would give me pause, are some of the stories that I've heard of how he handled his departure from Tulane. He was supposed to have a meeting with Tulane's NIL collective (as did all the players they thought were flight risks). He kept putting them off saying he was concentrating on the AAC Championship Game. It's obvious now he just didn't want to meet with them. He left the Army game in West Point with his agent, not the team. He basically cleaned out his locker in the middle of the night, and ghosted the NIL guys on the zoom. He didn't tell a single person, not even a single coach he was headed to the portal. Coach Sumrall found out when a player saw it on Mensah's agent's IG story. They were already back in California while Tulane was having a meeting to announce the bowl with Florida. Now, I've met his parents, and they seemed like wonderful people, and legitimately thankful Tulane gave him this shot (only D-I offer I believe), but his agent (works for Lil Wayne) is a scumbag, and he's being influenced by the wrong people.

All of that to say, he wouldn't be my first, second or maybe even third choice. I wouldn't be mad if ended up at Miami, but if Miami is trying to get anything close to a Cam Ward, he's not it.

I watched the K State game and these are some of the things that jumped out at me:

-He's changing arm angles to get around blitzes
-He's dropping the ball into tight windows
-He's throwing fast balls on screens and giving the receiver a chance
-He's throwing accurate deep balls
-He has pocket awareness
-He can run if things break down

And he's a freshman doing this against a top 20 team. You yourself said, "He throws a nice deep ball, and did have some throws into tight spaces where you said, "Wow, this guy is a freshman?"". So I'm reading your post and watching him play and thinking, "isn't that what a freshman with high potential does?". It's not always good but they make you go wow sometimes? That may be what the staff sees in him. I get the sense that you're coming from a place of can he win now. But if that QB isn't out there for us, I'm not against bringing in a guy who can take a step forward in 2025 when we have a run game we can rely on if things go south.

 

[TwentySix]

The question is - if we don't get Mateer or Mensah, is it worth splurging on a QB that is marginally better than an Emory versus investing that in overhauling the defense?

I may get roasted for thinking that as we really haven't seen enough of Emory. I acknowledge that I'm probably wrong here but I'm just not convinced the Weigman, Moss, Maalik's of the world are significantly better than Emory. That's more an indictment on the overall talent pool in the QB portal as opposed to my thoughts on Emory's ceiling.

There are a few guys other than those two that I’d take over Emory for sure. But if we start looking at the Weigman, Moss, Murphy guys, yeah I’d rather see that money spent elsewhere and just roll with Emory.

 

[TwentySix]

There needs to be a more clear separation between him (or anyone they bring in) and #17.

Mensah could turn into an absolute monster in the right system, but we shouldn't be on a short list of destinations with Duke.

Arnold signing to Miss St. is odd considering they were 2-10 without a conference win; he can do much better. I think we are willing to set the QB market again, so maybe it's Mateer or bust.

I’m not high on Emory. Like. At all. **** near the lowest you’ll probably find. I think there is a wide gap between a few of the qbs on the market, especially those with some mobility, and Emory.

Arnold’s old OC is the head coach at Mississippi State.

 

[Notsince1985]

-He's changing arm angles
-He's dropping the ball into tight windows
-He's throwing fast balls on scre


I watched the K State game and these are some of the things that jumped out at me:

-He's changing arm angles to get around blitzes
-He's dropping the ball into tight windows
-He's throwing fast balls on screens and giving the receiver a chance
-He's throwing accurate deep balls
-He has pocket awareness
-He can run if things break down

And he's a freshman doing this against a top 20 team. You yourself said, "He throws a nice deep ball, and did have some throws into tight spaces where you said, "Wow, this guy is a freshman?"". So I'm reading your post and watching him play and thinking, "isn't that what a freshman with high potential does?". It's not always good but they make you go wow sometimes? That may be what the staff sees in him. I get the sense that you're coming from a place of can he win now. But if that QB isn't out there for us, I'm not against bringing in a guy who can take a step forward in 2025 when we have a run game we can rely on if things go south.

Yes, he very well may turn into a great QB, but if Miami is trying to be a playoff contender next year, that's risk. If he was asked to come in and be the QB of the 2001 Hurricanes, I would say, sure do it. I don't think he's going to be the difference maker and what puts Miami over the top next year. That's all.

 

[DC3]

The question is - if we don't get Mateer or Mensah, is it worth splurging on a QB that is marginally better than an Emory versus investing that in overhauling the defense?

I may get roasted for thinking that as we really haven't seen enough of Emory. I acknowledge that I'm probably wrong here but I'm just not convinced the Weigman, Moss, Maalik's of the world are significantly better than Emory. That's more an indictment on the overall talent pool in the QB portal as opposed to my thoughts on Emory's ceiling.

I’d like to bring someone in to battle Emory for the job. It will be a very very negative place(except Fraggle will be happy) from now until August if Miami decides to just stick with Emory.