Why is UM so attractive to free agent QBs (beyond money)? Dawson, Mensah explain
For the third offseason in a row, the Miami Hurricanes have landed a high-end veteran quarterback.
And while UM’s sizable NIL budget — and willingness to spend millions of that money on a quarterback — is assuredly a significant factor, it’s far from the only reason this keeps happening.
In a conversation with several reporters two weeks ago, UM offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson explained why he believes the Canes have become so attractive to top signal callers.
And new Hurricane Darian Mensah — who follows Cam Ward and Carson Beck as UM’s latest QB portal prize — echoed several of Dawson’s points in a Friday interview with On3.com, his first public comments since transferring to UM on Tuesday.
“Miami is going to take me to the place I want to go, which is ultimately the NFL,” Mensah said, weeks after completing a season in which he threw 34 touchdowns and six interceptions and led Duke to an ACC Championship Game win against Virginia.
“They’ve got NFL coaches. Coach Dawson, what he does with quarterbacks, his track record is pretty amazing, and it’s something I wanted to be a part of. The way coach [Mario] Cristobal protects the quarterback, he’s always going to have a solid O-line and then the weapons just all around the team and everyone that’s a part of Miami. Seemed like it was a great fit for me.
“… I want to make the NFL. I want to be a first-round draft pick. And all signs point towards Miami. Miami’s done it. If you watch what they do, they win. It’s just something I wanted to be a part of. I’ve always bet on myself, and I always will. I’ve done it once, and I’ll do it again. I want to be one of the best... Miami was the spot for me to take myself to that next level.”
UM seemingly has found the formula to building a sustained championship contender: Build the trenches and skill positions and other areas through recruiting and supplement that home-grown talent by using the portal to pluck veteran players at need positions and to sign one of the top two or three QBs in the portal every year.
In Mensah’s case, UM had the legal right to convey interest to Mensah through third-party NIL entities before he entered the portal. While coaches are barred from contacting players with other schools, there are no NCAA tampering rules that preclude third party contact.
According to a source, Mensah was aware of UM’s interest in him before telling Duke that he wanted to enter the portal on Jan. 16, the final day that players could do so. That legal loophole in the NIL rules permitted Mensah to know which schools wanted him even before he entered the portal.
“I think success breeds success,” Dawson said before Mensah joined UM. “So I do think that when we got Cam Ward, I think it was very important — especially in the nature of college football today. It’s good to be marketable, you know what I mean?
“And being able to develop guys to the next level and being able to sell that [are important]. And that was the biggest selling point with Cam... I had to sell Cam before the success, which is sometimes harder.
“And so I had to sell him on the picture of like, ‘Look, man, I’m going to put you in a position where these NFL teams are going to view you as the top quarterback, because you’re going to play in a system that you’re going to have to make checks, you’re going to have to make run games — a lot of the things that you see in the NFL.’
“And I played quarterback [at Silliman Institute in Louisiana and Wingate College in North Carolina]. I was not very good. But it should be appealing to play behind an O-line like this, because they can really block, and [offensive line coach] Alex Mirabal does an elite job. And we protect as good as I’ve seen. So that’s a huge selling point.”
Dawson would tell free agent quarterbacks: “Look man, look at this pocket you’re throwing in.”
It’s clear that Dawson and Cristobal conveyed all of that to Mensah, who was second in the nation in touchdown passes and passing yardage during the regular season.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in an offense that’s going to be as talented as this one,” Mensah told On3.com. “The opportunities are endless, the sky’s the limit. I really just can’t wait to get to work with these boys, because it’d be a waste not to do something special with all the talent that we have.”
Mensah said that he has spoken to Dawson about blending elements of the offensive approach that UM used with Ward — who improvised more because of his immense talent — and Beck, who deftly managed an offense built around a power running game.
“We talked about watching Cam that year and how explosive he was, and the control he had in the offense,” Mensah said. “Giving him the ability to check the play at the line of scrimmage. And then, watching Beck this year, he was more of a control the run game, going back to his time at Georgia. We’re going to mix the two, because I’ve been in both styles of offense.”
Dawson said one advantage of having two quarterbacks with somewhat different skill sets — in Ward and Beck — allowed UM to “show the fact that this offense is not just for one type quarterback. You’re one piece of this whole puzzle. But then you can showcase your skills and really develop for the next level, which everybody wants to do.”
Mensah, who has two years of college eligibility remaining, told On3.com that not only does he appreciate what Dawson can do in developing quarterbacks, but he also appreciates how much Cristobal and Dawson coveted him.
“Talking to coach Cristobal, just the fact that they really wanted me there,” he said. “I’ve told this story many times. Not a lot of teams, especially out of high school, were interested in me. Having that feeling, especially from a coach like coach Cristobal, is a special feeling.
“Me and him relate in a lot of ways off the field. The biggest thing is our faith in God. You see him talk about it all the time. When he’s getting interviewed, he gives all the glory to Him. That’s something that I admire, and I aspire to be like that one day.”
Here’s my six-pack of nuggets and feedback on Mensah.
For more of Mensah’s comments to On.3, including what he said about Duke, click here for the On3.com piece.
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 11:31 AM.
