In a new feature naming the top sophomores at each position for the 2026 college football season, Bleacher Report picked Malachi Toney as its sophomore wide receiver and called him "the most explosive player in college football."
Brad Shepard said that Toney didn't arrive in Coral Gables with five-star hype, but once he got to Miami, it was obvious he was going to become QB Carson Beck's primary weapon.
Bleacher Report names Malachi Toney as top sophomore WR
Toney put up 109 catches for 1,211 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns as a true freshman. He also added 113 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, plus 298 punt return yards, giving him 1,622 all-purpose yards as an 18-year-old playing his first college season. For his efforts, he was named ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year, and earned second-team AP All-America honors.
"The Hurricanes' offense wasn't a big-play group throughout the '25 season, but Toney gave it a necessary dimension. After a slow start to the College Football Playoff with pedestrian performances against Texas A&M and Ohio State, he broke out against Ole Miss and Indiana."Brad Shepard
Toney started the College Football Playoff quietly by his standards, finishing with five catches for 22 yards in the opener against Texas A&M and then five catches in the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State. Toney finished the Texas A&M game with the only touchdown as the Hurricanes won 10-3.
Against Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl, he went for 81 yards and a touchdown on five catches, and in the national title game against Indiana, he posted 10 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Shepard included Tennessee's Braylon Staley as the honorable mention behind Toney. Staley had a strong freshman year of his own, logging 68 catches, 837 yards and six touchdowns in 2025.