‘Incredible talent’ Malachi Toney having a Hurricanes freshman season to remember
Miami Hurricanes safety Zechariah Poyser tried to find the appropriate words to describe teammate Malachi Toney, and particularly how happy he is he doesn’t have to go against him on game day.
“Pshhhh,” Poyser said. “That’s all I can say.”
That’s what opposing defenders are probably saying when they line up against him, too.
And it’s fair.
Toney’s talent can lead to that type of exasperation.
The freshman phenom wide receiver and former Plantation American Heritage star went from the Hurricanes’ secret weapon at the start of the season to becoming arguably one of the best all-around players in the country as an 18-year-old. He’s a big part of why Miami (9-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) is still in the running to be part of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
His performance in Miami’s 34-17 win at Virginia Tech on Saturday was just the latest example from an already dominant season.
Toney set single-game career highs with 12 catches and 146 yards while also catching a touchdown in the win. He also rushed three times for 16 yards, completed his third pass of the season (a 15-yard strike to Keelan Marion) and returned a punt.
“He’s just an incredible talent,” quarterback Carson Beck said. “He’s so special.”
And he’s well on his way to rewriting parts of the Hurricanes’ record book.
Toney enters the Hurricanes’ regular season finale at Pittsburgh on Saturday (noon, ABC) with 71 catches for 844 yards and six touchdowns. The 71 catches and 844 receiving yards are the most by any freshman in the country entering this week.
The 71 catches are also already the most by a UM freshman and the fourth most in a season ever in school history, behind only Xavier Restrepo’s 85 in 2023, Charleston Rambo’s 79 in 2021 and Leonard Hankerson’s 72 in 2010.
His 844 receiving yards are 90 shy of tying Ahmmon Richards’ freshman record of 934 receiving yards set in the 2016 season and 55 yards shy of tying Santana Moss’ 899 receiving yards in 1999 that stand as the 10th-most all-time in Hurricanes history for a single season. He has a chance to become the seventh receiver all-time in Miami history — along with Rambo, Allen Hurns, Hankerson, Restrepo, Eddie Brown and Andre Johnson — to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards. He would be the only freshman on that list.
“The best part about that guy is his approach,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. “It’s relentless, manic, OCD., with an unbelievable attitude, with unbelievable energy, approach to the game. Everything he wants to do is get better, help his teammates win. Watch him when his teammates are scoring and having success. You’ll see more energy than when he scores himself. It’s really awesome to see.”
And the Hurricanes can play him literally anywhere on the field and know they will get production out of him.
Against Virginia Tech on Saturday, Toney played 37 reps in the slot, 19 as an outside receiver, five in the backfield and three as a wildcat quarterback. In addition to what he has done as a receiver this season, Toney also has 12 carries for 59 rushing yards and a touchdown plus is 3-of-4 passing for 73 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s played every position on the field besides O-line,” Beck said with a laugh after the Virginia Tech win. “We were looking at that last week. He’s played every single position on offense. ... I’m just super grateful to be able to have him on our team and be able to have the opportunity to play with him.”
Toney also appreciates the multiple ways offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is getting him involved in the game. Teams started to game plan specifically for Toney as the season progressed.
But Miami has incorporated new wrinkles into the offense to find ways to get the ball in Toney’s hands and let him continue to make plays.
“I think I earned it,” Toney said, “and I’m doing great things with it. Now it’s just going out there and taking advantage of it.”
That he has.
Dawson said he wanted to make sure Toney had the basics of the playbook locked down before expanding what they put on his plate. Remember: Toney reclassified to enroll at Miami a year early and didn’t turn 18 until three weeks into the season. The Hurricanes wanted to take a thoughtful approach to ensure he didn’t feel overwhelmed going into his first college football season.
But Toney has thrived and has become one of the country’s most dynamic players.
“He’s good to game plan for because he’s on the field all the time,” Dawson said. “… When you’re a package guy, it’s hard to design stuff for you because once you do it one time, it’s over. [Opponents] know when you bring that guy in, you’re going to do this or you’re going to do something like that. And so it’s easier with Mali because he’s in the game all the time. So they don’t know when we’re going to do whatever we’re going to do.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 10:12 AM.
.JPG)