Welcome to Day 3 of the Miami Herald’s live blog chronicling around-the-clock updates on University of Miami football.
Here are the many developments that happened Thursday.
Please keep checking back for the latest:
Mensah seeks expedited ruling
Duke quarterback Darian Mensah — who would like to join the University of Miami football team (according to a source) but has been sued by Duke in an effort to prevent him from doing so — on Friday filed a request in Durham (N.C.) Superior Court that asks a judge to move up a hearing on his case from Feb. 2 until Friday.
Mensah’s representation has an official at the courthouse and hopes a judge will hear the matter on Friday.
Earlier this week, a judge said Duke cannot prevent Mensah from entering the transfer portal but that he cannot enroll at another school – let alone join another school’s football team – until a judge rules on Feb. 2.
The request filed by Mensah’s attorney, Darren Heitner on Friday, asks for an expedited preliminary injunction hearing. It also asks the court to “reconsider” the temporary restraining ruling that prevents him from enrolling in another institution “in light of new evidence” and to “prevent manifest injustice.”
Mensah’s representation said the temporary restraining order that prevents him from enrolling in another school at this time “could permanently foreclose opportunities for Mensah to enroll at other collegiate institutions.”
Mensah said he learned of these deadlines after the judge’s initial ruling that set Feb. 2 as the day for the next hearing.
The request said a Feb. 2 hearing would be after “critical enrollment deadlines” have passed.
Jan. 21 was the last day for a student to enroll at UM for the spring semester, according to the UM website, but it’s certainly conceivable there could be some flexibility there.
Mensah’s camp attempted to file the motion earlier this week but said a Microsoft outage prevented communication to push the process along.
Here’s a lot more on the case and the legal arguments in play.
Toure’s plans
UM senior linebacker Mo Toure is expected to be granted another year of eligibility because of past injuries.
Toure told me Saturday that he loves UM but wasn’t sure if he would attempt to come back for another season or turn pro. He said he would make a decision after consulting with his family and others in the days after the championship game.
On Friday, 247sports’ Gaby Urrutia said Toure is expected back with UM next season. He had 84 tackles this past season and led UM in tackles on Monday night.
Portal deadline
Saturday is the final day that players from UM and Indiana – the team’s in the national championship game – can enter the transfer portal.
On Thursday night, running back Girard Pringle Jr. withdrew from the portal and returned to UM, but receiver Jojo Trader entered the portal.
On Friday morning, former UM linebacker Malik Bryant signed with Missouri a day after entering the portal, per On3.com.
This story was originally published January 23, 2026 at 10:17 AM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
