Hurricanes’ Malachi Toney, Rueben Bain honored by ACC and nationally
The Miami Hurricanes’ Malachi Toney quickly burst onto the scene in his first season college football.
Rueben Bain Jr., meanwhile, continued to build on his stellar UM career that should lead to him being a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
Both are being recognized for it both by the Atlantic Coast Conference and on the national level.
Toney on Wednesday was named both the ACC Rookie of the Year and one of five finalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. Bain, meanwhile, is the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and is a finalist for the Lott Impact Trophy, which “emphasizes the idea that a player’s impact is measured not only by statistics but also by their character and contributions away from the field.”
Toney, who reclassified to join Miami a year early, finished the regular season with 84 catches for 970 yards and seven touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown and throwing for two more. No other freshman in the ACC had more than 547 receiving yards (Wake Forest’s Chris Barnes), 39 catches (Barnes) or four receiving touchdowns (Boston College’s Kaelan Chudzinski).
His 970 yards are a Miami freshman record for single-season receiving yards, while his 84 catches are second only to Xavier Restrepo’s 85 catches in the 2023 season for the most by a Hurricanes player ever in a single season. He posted at least 60 receiving yards in nine of 12 games, including four 100-yard outings.
Toney is one of just five college players this century to have seven touchdown catches, two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in the same season. The rest of that list includes UCF’s Ryan O’Keefe in 2021, South Carolina’s Pharoh Cooper in 2014, Kentucky’s Randall Cobb in 2010 and Rice’s James Casey in 2008.
The other finalists for the Shaun Alexander Award are Alabama cornerback Dijon Lee Jr., Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin.
Bain, meanwhile, had 37 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one interception across 12 starts. He also had a 92.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest of any qualified edge rusher at the Football Bowl Subdivision level this season. His 88.4 rush-defense grade ranked fourth nationally, while his 91.9 pass-rush grade was 10th-best among all players. Bain also generated 57 total pressures, making him one of only 10 players in the country to produce 50 or more and ranking him fifth nationally in the category.
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