Duke QB Mensah wins Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl MVP award

Duke sophomore quarterback Darian Mensah went into the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl as the most likely player to win the C. M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player Trophy and he delivered in an epically good offensive performance for both teams.

The next time Mensah is mentioned for an award, it will be in preseason Heisman predictions six months from now. The senior-to-be started that campaign in El Paso by passing for 327 yards and four touchdowns, including 178 yards and two touchdowns to his top target Que'Sean Brown, as he rallied Duke to a 42-39 victory Wednesday.

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That completed a 9-5 season for Duke and with Mensah saying he's coming back, he figures to be on a short list to be one of the top quarterbacks in America next season.

"It wasn't perfect but it was close to it," Mensah said of his first season at Duke. "To send our seniors out like this was awesome. It's been a huge blessing to be part of this team. Duke is a special place. As soon as I stepped on campus, I felt that."

Duke coach Manny Diaz gushed about Mensah afterward.

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"Very proud of him," he said. "Not just what you see on game day, but who he is in preparation fits the culture of our locker room. It takes competitive excellence to be your best; you have to have people perform their best when the best is required, and that sums up Darian. Not just what he's done in this game, but all season.

"We know he can make the plays that can win us the game."

Duke's Aaron Hall won the Jimmy Rogers Jr. Most Valuable Lineman after making five tackles, while Duke punter Kade Reynoldson won the John Folmer Most Valuable Special Teams Player Trophy after punting five times for a 45.2-yard average.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Duke QB Mensah was favored to win Sun Bowl MVP and he did with 4 TD game