Darian Mensah delivered on the hype in his first Duke start

Every offseason in College Football, players move across the Country at a rapid rate using the transfer portal whether it's to take a step up or down in competition or for NIL reasons. When some of the NIL figures are release for players it's easy for fans to get shocked and when Tulane transfer Darian Mensah landed at Duke on a deal that pays him $4 million per year everyone acted as if it was a massive overpay.

On Thursday Night, Darian Mensah got his first chance to prove that he was the right investment for the Duke Blue Devils against Elon. The Elon Phoenix aren't exactly world beaters but, in his first start for Duke Darian Mensah showed why he's getting paid as much as he is.

The first half of the game it was clear that needed some time to get into a rhythm as they went into halftime tied at 10 as fumbles and a missed field goal cost the Blue Devils. In the second half, Duke was clicking on all cylinders scoring a touchdown on every drive for the rest of the game.

Darian Mensah led that all out assault by Duke completing 27 of 34 passes for 389 yards and 3 touchdowns. Down the stretch of this game, Mensah got so hot passing he completed 14 straight passes which truly allowed Duke to see the full potential of the offense.

In this game, Darian Mensah found a clear favorite target in Cooper Barkate who caught 5 passes for 117 yards. Que'Sean Brown had an incredibly impressive game as well catching a team high 6 passes for 93 yards while Sahmir Hagans hauled in a pair of touchdowns.

Everyone will want to see Duke perform to this level in a tougher game but, it's hard not to get excited about Mensah's ability. The Blue Devils chance to prove they're legit couldn't come sooner as they'll face off against 12th ranked Illinois next weekend.

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