Ross Dellinger Article on Mensah Decision to Leave Duke and Transitioning at Miami

[Shogungts]

This article is a few days old, but I didn't see it posted here. Nothing earth shattering, but a few interesting nuggets about Mensah transitioning and settling in. One thing that did stand out to me:

"He, of course, also swapped those suits — from gray and blue to cream and green. His outfit, from the clothing brand State & Liberty, is an ode to one of his favorite people, Dennis Smith, Miami's general manager and recruiting guru who's often known for his trendy fits worn around the facility."​

I guess it's true... even though alot of us find Smith extremely goofy, apparently he is popular with the kids

 

[Bender]

I guess it's true... even though alot of us find Smith extremely goofy, apparently he is popular with the kids

Kids that come here and want to play here are individuals who are highly passionate about what they're doing.

It's more than evident that he shares that enthusiasm and passion and may even take it beyond that.

But we don't know what he's like behind closed doors. All we see is him goofing around when the camera clicks. So... I know this board doesn't like him, at least the majority, but he gives a crap about what he does and that's one heck of a change compared to our past.

 

[CaneLife93]

Kids that come here and want to play here are individuals who are highly passionate about what they're doing.

It's more than evident that he shares that enthusiasm and passion and may even take it beyond that.

But we don't know what he's like behind closed doors. All we see is him goofing around when the camera clicks. So... I know this board doesn't like him, at least the majority, but he gives a crap about what he does and that's one heck of a change compared to our past.

Mario likes him (pause) and Mario is one serious SOB who only focuses on football. I bet outside of twitter Dennis is the same because I think Mario doesn't put up with BS.

 

[Bender]

Mario likes him (pause) and Mario is one serious SOB who only focuses on football. I bet outside of twitter Dennis is the same because I think Mario doesn't put up with BS.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's the guy that has conversations with players that are not necessarily about football. He spoke a lot about the organization behind NIL, player retention, keeping tabs with players because they keep getting contacted from everywhere etc. Every team has/needs these people too.

Ultimately, Mario wants him around the organization and it's not like he has a small title either.

 

[Shogungts]

Yeah - I mean obviously he is of value to the organization or Mario (hopefully) wouldn't keep him around. My assumption was always that he was providing value that maybe made up for his corniness. Like maybe the kids rolled their eyes at him and thought he was trying too hard, but not enough to scare them away and he did other stuff behinds the scenes that provided value, but apparently I was wrong about the players take on him.

And as others pointed out above, all we see is the online stuff... maybe the kids do like that stuff (who am I to say as someone in their 40s what 18-22 years old like) or maybe they think that stuff is goofy too, but he is cool in other ways. Either way, at least some of them clearly like him and Mario obviously does, so good on him.