This modern era of college football is still so new that teams are still trying to develop plans as they go through trial and error in the Transfer Portal. Teams have tried to lean mostly on high school recruiting while other build their roster in the Transfer Portal as each tries to figure out if their strategy works the best.
The fact of the matter is that the best strategy will depend on the position as ideally you'll have a veteran experienced quarterback and players in the trenches while the players at the skill positions can come from either High School or the Transfer Portal.
Miami's quarterback strategy makes perfect sense
On Tuesday Night, the Miami Hurricanes found their quarterback for the 2026 season, landing Duke Transfer Darian Mensah.
BREAKING: Former Duke QB Darian Mensah is transferring to Miami after visiting with the Hurricanes on Tuesday, @247Canes, @mzenitz, and @chris_hummer have learned.
— Gaby Urrutia (@GabyUrrutia247) January 28, 2026
Mensah finished second nationally with 3,973 passing yards and 34 touchdowns.https://t.co/i7ox3kcz6S pic.twitter.com/fSpODHDrfW
Darian Mensah makes three straight offseasons that the Miami Hurricanes have gone out and landed their starting quarterback via the Transfer Portal. The three quarterbacks are vastly different, but they all fit this strategy that will likely become the blueprint for teams as we continue to progress in this modern era.
Cam Ward was an experienced quarterback who started his career at Incarnate Word before emerging at Washington State. Rather than entering the NFL Draft, Ward ended up at Miami where he became the eventual 1st Overall Pick.
Carson Beck seemed to be done with college football after his season ending injury at Georgia, but Miami showed interest and paid big landing him at quarterback. For all of Carson Beck's flaws, he still led this team to a National Championship appearance helping take this team further than they've been in over 20 seasons.
Mario Cristobal has a clear thought process when it comes to quarterbacks, he's not going to take a risk on an unproven signal caller. Why take and pay a top recruit out of High School, and hope to develop them when you can buy a proven quarterback on a yearly basis? Miami has shown it's willing to pay big, and if they're going to get their transfer target every season, why should they continue to take chances with High School recruits.
Miami has found a way to build a winner and change it's identity on the fly with the Transfer Portal, and they're doing it better than anyone else. After having a high flying offense with Cam Ward, Miami turned into a team that controled the ball with Carson Beck. Now, Miami will kick it back up a notch with Mensah at quarterback as the pieces on this roster will allow a high powered offense once again.