It is a quieter Tuesday for Miami, but Darian Mensah’s stunning Hurricanes debut continues to reverberate nationally.
One game.
That is the important bit to remember here.
But what a game.
Mensah rockets into the Heisman conversation
Darian Mensah’s Miami debut against Stanford was so good that the conversation around the Hurricanes quarterback has changed almost immediately.
NBC Sports placed Mensah at the top of its updated early Heisman rankings after Week 1, ahead of Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith.
It is September, so nobody needs to start clearing space in Coral Gables for another Heisman Trophy just yet.
What matters more is why Mensah has suddenly attracted so much attention.
He completed 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions against Stanford. Miami won 45-6, Mensah completed 90 per cent of his passes and his connection with Malachi Toney looked established from the opening snap.
Mensah does not need to win the Heisman for this season to be successful. Miami need him to run Shannon Dawson’s offence efficiently, protect the football and deliver in the biggest games.
Friday suggested he might be capable of considerably more.
Toney enters the national award conversation too
Mensah is not the only Hurricane whose national profile has exploded.
Malachi Toney’s 12 catches for 234 yards and three touchdowns against Stanford broke Miami’s single-game receiving record.
That performance has already pushed Toney into the early Biletnikoff Award conversation too.
Again, it is only Week 2.
Award races in September are mostly conversation starters.
But Miami having a quarterback and receiver generating this much national attention after one game tells you something about the ceiling of this offence.
The bigger challenge is ensuring Stanford does not become an outlier.
Toney is going to receive considerably more attention from opposing defensive coordinators now. That is where Cooper Barkate, Daylyn Upshaw, Elijah Lofton and the rest of Miami’s weapons become important.
If defences start shifting everything towards Toney, Mensah has to punish them elsewhere.
FAMU provides the next test
Thursday night is getting closer.
Miami host Florida A&M at Hard Rock Stadium at 8pm ET, which means a 1am Friday kick-off in the UK.
Stanford carried opening-night uncertainty. FAMU should be about Miami taking care of business, getting better in the areas that need work and, ideally, getting the starters off the field relatively early.
The Heisman chatter is fun. It reflects just how impressive Mensah’s debut was.
But Thursday is where the next part begins.
The best way to keep people talking about Stanford is to make sure Stanford was not a one-off.
The Last Word from Across the Pond
One performance does not make a Heisman season, but Mensah could hardly have introduced himself to Miami any better.
Five touchdowns, 401 yards, 90 per cent completions and a 45-6 road win were always going to attract national attention.
Toney breaking Miami’s single-game receiving record alongside him only adds to the excitement.
The awards conversation can wait.
What matters now is whether Miami can turn that spectacular opening night into something repeatable.
FAMU provides the next opportunity on Thursday.
For Mensah, Toney and this Miami offence, the expectations have already moved up a notch.
