QB Mensah can enter portal, can't sign until ruling

Duke quarterback Darian Mensah is permitted to enter the transfer portal, but he can't enroll at another school or play football for another college team before a North Carolina judge rules on Duke's request for an injunction that would prevent him from leaving.

An injunction hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2 in front of Durham County (North Carolina) Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson. Mensah's attorney, Darren Heitner, has indicated he would attempt to move the hearing to an earlier date.

Mensah, who signed a multiyear contract with Duke in July 2024 that was believed to be worth $4 million this year, informed Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz that he intended to transfer Friday, the last day the transfer portal was open.

"Mr. Mensah has an existing contract with Duke which the university intends to honor, and we expect he will do the same," Duke's athletics department said in a statement Wednesday. "The court-ordered temporary restraining order (TRO) issued yesterday ensures he does not violate his contract. The university is committed to supporting all of our student-athletes, while expecting each of them to abide by their contractual obligations."

It is believed that Mensah wants to transfer to Miami, where he would replace former starter Carson Beck.

Duke officials sued Mensah in Durham County Superior Court on Tuesday. Judge Michael O'Foghludha ruled from the bench Tuesday, according to Heitner, and denied part of Duke's request that would have prevented Mensah from entering the transfer portal.

O'Foghludha, a Duke basketball season-ticket holder, recused himself from future proceedings because of the conflict of interest.

Under the terms of Duke's NIL contract with Mensah, any disputes between the parties must be settled through arbitration. The school said it filed a claim for arbitration Monday and wanted the judge to issue relief until the end of that arbitration process.

"[I]f Mensah is permitted to continue his course of ignoring his contractual obligations and transfer to another school to compete in football and license his NIL rights to that school, Duke University will have no ability to protect its rights in an arbitral proceeding," the lawsuit said. "Indeed, those rights will be practically worthless if Mensah is allowed to enroll at another collegiate institution, play football there, and relicense his rights."