Inside the Wave: Darian Mensah Reflects on First Career Start

welcome back to another episode of inside the wave here I'm joined by Our Guest Darien Mina Tain starting quarterback thanks for joining us Daran how you doing I'm good thanks for having me yeah we're definitely excited to have you on qb1 uh when did Samra tell you in the team that you were going to be starting for week one uh it was about 10 days before our first game he didn't tell me I was going to be the starter he just told me um that you'll continue to go with the ones and you got to keep bringing it every day and I did that so um but yeah he didn't he didn't tell me I was going to be the starter exactly and what was that conversation like for you how did that feel I kind of took it as a challenge um like he didn't he told me he wasn't going to announce to started so I just took it upon myself to you know continue what I've been doing all camp and just lead the guys and and really uh show that I'm capable of being starter yeah I mean I think I think based on based on your week one performance I think most two lane fans would say you're capable of being the starter obviously it's coach's opinion that matters but I don't know if you've seen but two lane fans on on all sorts of social medias are calling it menam Mania have you seen that no I haven't seen that I don't I don't really be on socials that much but that's funny that's hilarious do you like the nickname menam Mania is there something else you you would rather or menam Mania I mean I don't mind it I think it's dope that fans are calling me men Mania but it's cool yeah you definitely uh burst onto the scene on on on Twitter you've been trending recently for for chain fans in your first ever start uh some stats real quick first ever start Pro Football Focus gave you the fifth best grade out of all the quarterbacks in the country you were also fifth in the country in air yards per attempt with 2.42 did you know going to the game that you were going to light it up did you have a good feeling or or what were what were your thoughts head an end of that game I was just confident in my preparation I prepared basically all my life for this me and the guys have been working extremely hard since the uh since spring workouts you know what I'm saying so just to get that first game under my belt it felt really good especially my family being there too it just it felt really good to get out there yeah yeah that I mean that's got to be amazing you burst onto the scene in week one what do you have to do to keep your level of play up and avoid taking a step back in week two just the same thing that I've been doing prepare prepare prepare um and continue to lead the guys um really this week it's it's about the details playing against you know a bigger opponent in in Kansas State but um nothing different than I've been doing all fall cam like I said earlier definitely good mentality did you have a favorite play from from week one favorite play that's a great question not uh a lot of people like the my first throw the Dig but I'd say my favorite one is the one that Reggie rolling out the dude in my face I kind of threw it back over the middle hit hitting him on the little over right there if you remember what I'm talking about uh what quarter was it in it was in the first quarter um I'm I motioned Yol and he R he ran the uh wheel and I had Balman in the flat he was covered so I came to the over and I hit regie you you'll watch it back you'll see I think it was one of my better throws it goes kind of unnoticed but I like that thr I I'll have to go check it out I think my favorite was probably the the one that set up makai's touchdown on third down where you rolled out and on on a broken play hit hit Balman if you know the one I'm talking about yeah I know what you're talking about yeah yeah down there down the student section and yeah good play right that was nice dog AB had to show him some love all right so actually we have a a couple Clips here first clip is your that we're going to play here is your first touchdown in college football we're going to play that and and then afterwards kind of take us through it Mena against pressure lofs it end zone for brown and he's got it touchdown two [Applause] lane one more time I think it didn't load all the way there Mena against pressure lofs it Endzone for brown and he's got it touchdown two [Applause] lane so there it is that a historic play that's always going to be your first touchdown take us through that play man um so there's two Sid of that play you got man's side zon side they bring they brought saw Sam and will blitz so I knew I was working YY the whole way um I should have I kind of under threw it to be honest but you know I don't have to do much with my receivers they they make me look great every play so amazing catch by you super exciting first touchdown yeah it was it is definitely a great we're talk more about your receivers yeah yeah he's he's a playmaker MH he's a playmaker we're going to talk more about your receivers here in a bit it's definitely one of the deepest groups in the country um I got one more play for you um you'll recognize it I'm sure once once I click on it so here we go Motion man is Williams Mena off play action he's going deep Williams has a step and he's got it and he CS it back Williams inside the 30 still racing at the 20 and he's tucked down inside the [Applause] 15 that was your biggest play of the day yardage wise talk us through that one uh yeah going in this week we knew that play they couldn't stop that play so uh Coach K kind of tucked it in his back Po in until later in the game but um yeah I think the o line did a great job protecting um we had a blitz come off the edge right there and I think Rio should have scored right there me and Coach shro were joking with him about it he should have scored but um yeah good thing we punch it in uh the play after that so yeah I think I think watching that playback I think every single guy was open so I mean what more can you ask for I told you they couldn't stop it no so so when you're going through film for a team what what is it that tells you a play that gives you confidence in a play like that how how do you see going into a game oh this play is going to work um just watching a lot of film a lot of hours of film and knowing what the defense was going to do for that play was the motion we had two we had a movement then a motion and we knew they were going to check to a certain coverage right there so we knew we had we wanted from the defense and it was just about putting the ball in the money it's great stuff talk about your receivers a little bit what it's been like working with such a talented group yeah man I'm blessed to have other receivers I do like I said like you like he saved me right there like he he made an amazing play uh and then Rio Rio's IQ is just off the CHS he's somebody asked me the other day and I told him like he's just always in the right spot at the right time and then Dante this week he's going to have a big week this week I'm telling you um he had a huge fall camp for um but this is when he's going to wake the country up this week yeah I'm I'm excited he had uh one of the best fall camps out of anyone on the team so excited to see that transl onto the field a little bit not just those three though too like all my receivers I could like bow is a great block like I could go on and on to be honest like this is this take forever but um all my receivers are really good so I'm just super blessed to have those guys around me yeah you've got you've got true freshman on the team that that were balling in in spring camp so it's a deep it's I guess it might be the deepest group in the country it is I think it is to be honest so we've got we've got the players on offense what about defense who who's the guy on defense that's that's been the most difficult for you giving you the most headaches during practice um this the want the defense as a unit is just really like that i' say if I had to choose a player Caleb bras somebody who we always are like okay he's there on the field like you got to know where he's at at all times just because uh he's extremely talented and he can he can do it all from the defensive perspective but um everybody on defense is really good like it don't like ones twos everybody who's on our team that's a defensive player can play at a high level so um we can lean on those guys so that's something I'm super happy about yeah I've got I've got one more play for you to watch this is a play that someone else actually made you would have been on the sideline for this play um huge momentum changer it it it turned the game around from what could have been a a 147 game going in the half and made it 21-0 going to play the clip and walk us through what what the reaction was like on the sideline for this play here we go play clock down to one soy pumps Lofts towards the end zone and it's picked off right into the arms of ran Pleasants he's still going he's got green grass in front it's a pick six for two L what was that like I was I was like I was like 40 opposite 40 and I seen him get the pick and I knew he was going to take it to the crib um but that play is a Long Time Coming For Real like he works his ass off every day so to see him do that like f like I was like yeah like I knew he was going to do something like that just because he's one of the hardest workers on the team and he's a defensive leader so like and really like that what like like you said it was the biggest it was the momentum change like it's a huge difference between 140 and 21 Z going in a half so uh huge play for us yeah it really really blew the doors up on that play No Doubt so you've gone through a camp with the old coaching staff and now you've gone through a camp under coach Som ra what's the biggest difference been between the two um I'd say the biggest difference is just coach somra really like wants the players opinions like coach fris coach Fritz too like I I respect coach Fritz I really like coach Fritz he recruited me but um coach shal like he really cares about the players and and that shows like with everything that he does like and we we have like Leadership Council so like anytime players need something like we're we're heard so um it's great to have somebody like coach sh as your head coach going into camp like you know it's hot so he understands what we're going through uh daily so um I would say that's the biggest difference is you you can doesn't matter who you are too you you're heard on the team yeah it's got to be a great feeling as a player and and I'm sure helps the trust between coach and player last thing before we get going here Tain takes on Kansas State this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Central in yman tickets are selling out pretty quickly but what do you have to say to two lane fans about why they need to make sure they're there it's going to be a show um they're good we're good and it's going to be a show that's all I got to say Pac yman Pac yman I appreciate your time there in R wave yes sir R wave appreciate you