The arch-rival Miami Hurricanes have a transfer portal strategy of trying to get one of the top quarterbacks every year to lead their program. It’s a strategy that’s worked to a degree. Miami has won a lot of games over the past three years, with no conference or National titles to show for it.
The crazy part is that Miami has taken some major gambles with this strategy. The strategy is basically to overpay. Case in point, Cam Ward declared for the NFL Draft, but Miami threw a ton of money at him to go there for his final year. It paid off for Ward since he became the No. 1 overall pick in the following NFL Draft, but Miami failed to make the ACCCG and lost their bowl game.
Miami had already taken a transfer quarterback, Reese Poffenbarger from Albany, until they lucked up and got Ward at the 11th hour. Miami went to the portal again before the 2025 season, taking an injured Carson Beck when there was no guarantee he’d regain his level of play after injuring his throwing arm.
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If Beck didn’t work out, they would have been stuck with Emory Williams (started as a freshman against FSU in 2023), who they didn’t develop and has since transferred out. Miami would have likely had at least four losses and never made the CFP Playoffs.
Here we are after the 2025 season, and Miami struck out on several options like Sam Leavitt and Brendan Sorsby. It wasn’t until they threw a ton of money at Duke’s Darian Mensah that they found its quarterback for 2026. They also got his top receiver, who will transfer from Duke, Cooper Barkate.
With the addition of Darian Mensah… the Miami Hurricanes should be the preseason #1 team in the country… this team is STACKED.
— Eric Mac Lain (@EricMacLain) January 28, 2026
Miami is in the driver's seat and Florida State settles for backup players at a key position
Interestingly enough, Mensah had already signed a new deal with the Blue Devils and had to goto court to find a way out of that contract to enroll at Miami. If the situation with Mensah hadn’t worked out, Miami would have been in dire straits. They have been playing with fire with this strategy, but somehow it has worked out for them the past two years. Will 2026 be different? I’d take the field against Miami because they have Mario Cristobal for its head coach.
However, there’s no question they are in a better position than Florida State going into 2026 after this move. They've been willing to spend the money to make things happen, and FSU hasn't.