Darian Mensah will make his debut as Duke’s starting quarterback Thursday against Elon, and his pregame routine is a little different.
He doesn’t like to eat before a game, so that’s out.
And while many athletes have their favorite playlist of music, some tunes to set the right vibe in pregame, Mensah just goes with the vibe.
Mensah says he listens to … frequencies?
“Vibrational frequencies,” he said in a recent interview. “It’s like a noise you listen to, like a constant ringing noise. It’s like calming music, I guess.”
Some call it sound therapy or bioacoustics. The goal is to use binaural beats and the vibration to reduce stress, create relaxation, enhance mental focus and even help pain management.
And why that instead of using the headphones to listen to, say, some R&B?
“I’m just a huge believer in manifestation,” Mensah said. “My mom is super big on this, but the higher your vibration is, the more you can attract things you want in your life.”
Mensah is a redshirt sophomore and a California kid, raised by his mother, a longtime acupuncturist. He’s also the type who knows what he wants and where he wants to go, and plans on carrying a chip on his shoulder – his words – until he achieves it.
“I’ve always wanted to be in the spotlight,” Mensah said. “So it’s no surprise why I’m here and doing the things I’m doing.”
Mensah picked up that “chip” years ago when college recruiters all but ignored the quarterback at Saint Joseph High near San Luis Obispo. He was putting up good numbers and winning games but the recruiting interest was scant and the offers scarce.
The way Mensah describes it, he was basically recruited to Tulane off social media, after the Wave’s recruiting coordinator saw a video clip of Mensah and made contact. “I think they stumbled into a diamond in the rough,” Mensah said.
Mensah was soon on his way to New Orleans, was redshirted as a freshman and then more or less manifested himself into the Wave’s starting quarterback.
“Being from the central coast, and seeing guys I thought I was a little better than being the ones in the spotlight, I’ve always wanted to be there,” Mensah said. “Now that I have that, it’s go time.”
Mensah earned much attention last season at Tulane, leading the Green Wave to a 9-5 record and the American Athletic Conference championship game. He earned even more by then deciding he would transfer and being given a two-year NIL package worth $4 million a year, it was reported by ESPN, CBS Sports and other outlets.
Four million dollars. Let that sink in for a sec.
That’s what Duke coach Manny Diaz reportedly is paid. It’s also the price of business in college football, where a player’s skill and production, along with the value of their name, image and likeness can make someone, and his family, financially secure.
