Mario on joe rose 7/15 on Qb Room - NO portal

[252cane]

But that's just the thing. He didn't have to say anything because no one asked him! Not once did Joe ask him about quarterbacks.

Only 6 months ago, we paid an absolute fortune just to get Mensah, and showed how desperate we were for a portal QB. Did the staff's opinion of the QB room really change that quickly? December is a long way away, so maybe Nickel or Coleman could show enough throughout the course of the season. Personally, my guess would be that if we do decide not to go with a portal QB, that means Abrams probably got the nod. That's not a knock on the other two

The reason I'm not looking too hard into this statement is that with our offensive line, scheme, WR core and NIL, the top portal QBs will be knocking on the door. There is going to be a lot of interest

I think they felt those guys wasn’t ready this year and they probably feel the team is good enough to make another run. And we have gotten good QBs in the portal but the process hasn’t been easy or smooth. And look at the hs recruiting strategy has changed at the position. Before they weren’t going after the highly ranked guys. This cycle they recruited multiple highly ranked qbs and now have a 5 star in abrams

 

[cway313]

Imagine giving thoughts to things said about 2027 before fall of 2026. Couldn't be me.

 

[amanan28]

I think the reality is that, with liquidation damages and buyout clauses becoming more common, a school has to pay above-market to pull a quarterback out of the portal. By some accounts, Mensah is THE highest-paid QB in the country despite not necessarily being the best QB in the county, because that's what it took to get him to come here.

From a roster-building standpoint, it's cheaper to develop and retain guys already in your program. Taking Mensah as an example, he's reportedly making around $6.5 million. If he were a homegrown player and we didn't have to pay a premium to lure him away from another school or deal with buyout costs / litigation, we're probably spending something like $4.5-5 million instead. That's an extra $1.5–2 million you could spend elsewhere on the roster, like an elite offensive lineman or TE.

That's where developing your own talent can create a huge advantage. My guess is that's the basic math behind Mario's decision to start focusing more on HS QBs.

You pay the extra 1.5 million on the proven commodity for +1 win, all day.

 

[dskilz3]

The cupboards are no longer bare.

 

[rascon]

I read Mario’s comment to suggest that we will be looking to give the backup qb a little more action this year in blow out games (and I think we have some expectations that there will be more of those than in the past). That will tell us everything we need to know about whether we ultimately portal or not.

All I know is that as good as we look for this year and I think we are legit NC contenders… next year (28) looks like it could be 2001 Canes all over again.

 

[CanesNation26]

You pay the extra 1.5 million on the proven commodity for +1 win, all day.

Those aren’t really the stakes, though admittedly I wasn’t clear in my last post.

The difference is this: if your QB proves himself in-house, you might end up paying him around $5 million. But if you’re trying to lure that same proven QB from another school, you may have to pay something closer to $6.5 million.

Take Dante Moore as an example. My guess is Oregon paid him somewhere around $2–$3 million last year. He played at a Day 1 pick level. That’s the benefit of developing a QB in-house: because he hasn’t fully proven himself yet, you can get elite-level play at a discount.

And even after he proves himself like he did last year, you still may not have to pay as much as you would in the portal. Dante is reportedly getting paid around $5 million this upcoming season. Mensah is reportedly receiving $6.5 million.

So the point is, when you develop QBs in-house, you get two economic advantages: (1) you can get strong play at a discount before they’ve fully proven themselves, and (2) even once they do prove themselves, you can often retain them for less than it would cost to pull that same proven player out of the portal.

That’s why it makes economic sense to develop QBs in-house.

Like you said, though, the risk is that none of the in-house guys end up being any good. But the point is that the cost difference between an unproven in-house player, even a five-star, and a proven portal QB is closer to $3–4 million, not $1.5 million.

 

[dycane]

not if he produces as everyone on here is predicting

We’ll see. He’d have to be assured 1st round or he stays presuming Miami willing to pay him the same or give him a slight bump — I think he’s taking down ~2x the AAV of a high second round pick. Barring injury, moreover, I think his chances of moving into first half of the 1st round — where the real money is made — are materially greater in ‘28 than in ‘27. The ‘28 class looks like doodoo.

 

[Trav]

This is the right answer. Do you think with the quarterback room that we have, that Mario is going to publicly say we’re still open to grabbing QB starters from the portal? In the first place, the room is better than it has been for the last several years, but even if it wasn’t, I imagine he’d say the same thing. Otherwise you’re sending the wrong message to the people in that room.

If Mensah moves on to the NFL, which he most likely will, and a quarterback of similar qualities is available, you don’t think Mario will strongly consider it? He has to, he just doesn’t need to advertise it right now.

The statement is the only statement he could make at this time. Any portal friendly statement right now would be foolish and counterproductive.

Common sense, folks. People never seem to read between the lines or understand coachspeak.

 

[Ispyin]

It's the typical posters doing mental gymnastics. There is zero benefit in Mario not publicly declaring that the answers to our future QB questions are not in the room. If he says otherwise, you're going to have the younger guys looking over their shoulders throughout the fall.

Once again, he wasn't even asked about qb's it was just about how he looks at recruiting and portal together.

He could have answered the question without even addressing qb room at all

 

[Ispyin]

Common sense, folks. People never seem to read between the lines or understand coachspeak.

dude he wasnt even asked about qb's in the question from joe rose. he in fact had answered it essentially and could have stopped without thequote i started this thread with and they move on no issues.

 

[Flynell7]

I wouldn’t call starting with Utah in Vegas as “ weak”. Still think you want a proven guy to start that game

Backup QB should get plenty of snaps if the offense lives up to expectations this season

 

[TemplarCane]

Mensah has two years of eligibility left. We all anticipate he will thrive in this offense with Dawson and will go pro, but this is also a very QB-rich draft; Arch continues to be overrated without showing much. Could there be even a small chance he comes back to be a Heisman front runner and #1 pick favorite for 2028?

32-0

The Football Gawds making up for all the ***** jobs against Miami and forcing Onion, Folder, Richt, and Lippsy on us.

We’re owed at least two natty’s.

 

[grover]

Mensah chances of coming back:

 

[Pearson704]

Mensah has two years of eligibility left. We all anticipate he will thrive in this offense with Dawson and will go pro, but this is also a very QB-rich draft; Arch continues to be overrated without showing much. Could there be even a small chance he comes back to be a Heisman front runner and #1 pick favorite for 2028?

It's a great situation for Mensah and Miami to be in.

Him returning for a senior season would be incredible from a development standpoint.

 

[D_G87]

I wouldn’t call starting with Utah in Vegas as “ weak”. Still think you want a proven guy to start that game

Backup QB should get plenty of snaps if the offense lives up to expectations this season

I definitely get and hope that’s the case but playing against 2 and 3’s in games is a lot different than playing vs a 1 defense. I hope Nickel and Coleman show they can be the man next year, but I wouldn’t turn down an elite proven guy EVER if one hits the Portal.

 

[canedotcom]

Let’s hope Mensah feels that two Nattys are better than one?

 

[CreativeCane]

Let’s hope Mensah feels that two Nattys are better than one?

 

[bdub2284]

I heard the same thing last year, and look how the 2026 class turned out. Also, if we have the season we all expect to have, Mensah is going to put up huge numbers and will be in the Heisman discussion. That will likely put him in the first round. As cool as it would be to get him to return, Mensah returning would be a little bit of a disappointment. I'm far from a draft expect or scout so I could be wrong

I'm not buying the Arch and Moore hype either. CJ Carr is very good, but he's still got quite a bit to prove. Who else really is there?

Imo, Mensah's draft stock will come down to how NFL teams view his physical tools, particularly his arm strength. He has a good arm, but he doesn't have a cannon, and NFL teams drool over that tool. That's why guys like Will Levis and Drew Allar who are nowhere near the QB Mensah is, still get drafted in the first three rounds. If guys like Arch, Moore, Chambliss, Sayin, or Mestemaker are just productive, then that will definitely be a loaded QB class. I don't think it's crazy to think Mensah could come back even though I expect him to have a really productive year.

 

[Silentobserver]

Doubt him if you want, but again, it was completely unsolicited and he never would say stuff like that if he doesn’t believe it in my opinion

The dude is constantly recruiting - both this QB room and future QBs in this specific conversation.

Let this season play out and then let Mario and crew fill in the gaps as they see fit. They've been pretty good lately of making things work out