Through seven games, Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney and quarterback Darian Mensah are producing at a level that closely tracks the numbers DeVonta Smith and Mac Jones posted for Alabama at the same point in their 2020 national championship season.
The comparison comes as the Hurricanes remain undefeated and ranked No. 1, with both players in the Heisman conversation.
This is getting ridiculous.
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) October 24, 2026
Through 7 games in 2020:
DeVonta Smith: 65 catches, 903 yards, 10 TD
Mac Jones: 77.1%, 18 TD/3 INT
Miami, still in Game 7:
Malachi Toney: 65 catches, 941 yards, 10 TD
Darian Mensah: 82.0%, 21 TD/1 INT
Side-by-side numbers
In 2020, Smith had 65 catches for 903 yards and 10 touchdowns through Alabama's first seven games. Jones had completed 77.1% of his passes with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Toney currently sits at 66 catches for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns while Mensah has completed 81.4% of his passes (166 of 204) for 2,151 yards with 22 touchdowns and one interception.
How the Miami pair is playing
Toney set a Miami single-game record with 16 receptions for 194 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's 52-23 win over Pitt. He leads the nation in catches and has already reached 2,000 career receiving yards as a sophomore.
Mensah completed 31 of 37 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions against Pitt. Across the season he has posted a 204.6 passer rating while averaging more than 300 passing yards per game.
What the 2020 Alabama pair went on to do
Smith finished the 2020 season with 117 catches for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns and became the first full-time wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy since 1991.
Jones threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns as Alabama went 13-0 and won the national championship. The Crimson Tide's offense ranked among the most efficient in recent memory, and both players finished in the top five of Heisman voting (Smith first, Jones third).
Other historic QB-WR duos that produced at a similar level
Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase at LSU in 2019 are the clearest modern parallel for volume and efficiency. Burrow completed 402 of 527 passes (76.3%) for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns with only six interceptions across 15 games in a perfect national championship season.
Chase finished with 84 receptions for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns, setting an SEC single-season receiving yards record at the time and earning unanimous All-American honors. The pair connected for 20 touchdowns while LSU averaged more than 48 points per game. Burrow's 60 passing touchdowns and 202.0 passer rating also set NCAA records.
Andre Ware and Manny Hazard at Houston in 1989 produced numbers that were revolutionary for the era. Ware won the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 4,699 yards and 46 touchdowns in the run-and-shoot offense. Hazard caught 142 passes for 1,689 yards and 22 touchdowns, a single-season receptions total that stood as an NCAA record for years.
Jim Plunkett and Randy Vataha at Stanford in 1970 formed a productive pair during Plunkett's Heisman-winning season. Plunkett threw for 2,715 yards and 18 touchdowns while leading Stanford to the Rose Bowl. Vataha served as his primary deep threat and red-zone target with 48 catches for 844 yards and six touchdowns. While the receiving totals were more modest by modern standards, the connection helped Stanford win the Pac-8 and reach the Rose Bowl in an era when passing efficiency and big-time passing production were less common.
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