One season after freshman WR's Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams took the college football world by storm, Miami true freshman Malachi Toney is quietly delivering WR1 production for an unbeaten contender. Through Week 7, Toney leads the Hurricanes in receiving with 29 catches for 375 yards and three touchdowns, giving Carson Beck a reliable downfield target in an offense that hasn't missed a beat despite losing their top-six pass catchers from last year.
One of Toney's signature moments came in Miami's 28–22 win at Florida State, when he caught seven passes for 107 yards and two scores. Miami hit a 44-yard flea-flicker to Toney and later dialed up a fourth-down shot that he turned into a 40-yard touchdown, part of a four-TD night for Beck that blew the rivalry game open before FSU's late push.
Question ppl
— BettingMonster🤑 (@bettingmonster) October 8, 2025
I knew we talk about Ryan Williams an Jeremiah Smith about being 2 best WR in CFB!!!! But when we going to start talking about this Tru freshman playing for Miami in Malachi Toney,, I'm just Saying pic.twitter.com/BD0z3mVaF6
While Smith (Ohio State) and Williams (Alabama) remain the gold standard for freshman receivers, Toney has inserted his name into the mix this season. Smith had 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 16 total touchdowns, while Williams had 48 receptions for 865 yards and 10 total touchdowns. Toney's 375 yards leads No. 2 Miami and has come in big moments against ranked opponents. Currently, he is more on pace to match Williams' numbers.
Toney's readiness shouldn't come as a surprise despite him being only 17 years old when the season began (where have we heard that before?). The South Florida native reclassified into the 2025 class and arrived with a decorated resume from American Heritage. He won the 2024 Nat Moore Award as South Florida's top player and was named MaxPreps Florida Player of the Year after recording 58 receptions for 1,008 yards and 12 touchdowns on a Class 4A state title team. Also, a crazy fact that needs to be mentioned: the starting QB got injured in the middle of the season when the team was 4-2 and Toney subbed in at QB to lead them the rest of the way.
Toney had 49 receptions for 773 yards and eight scores in the 2023 season. The nickname he had in high school — "Baby Jesus" — was fitting as well. If there was ever a reclassification that made sense, it was this one.
Malachi Toneys high school team was 4-2 barely going to make the playoffs. QB gets hurt he subs in at QB and leads the team to a state title pic.twitter.com/TpOiPw9O2g
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) October 8, 2025
When arriving to Coral Gables earlier this year, Toney immediately turned heads and has never looked back. He played well in the spring game, has built chemistry with Beck, and now is the best freshman WR in the nation. Freshman WR's Vernell Brown III out of Florida and Dakorien Moore from Oregon deserve a mention too as they have also been elite.
Toney and Miami return to action this Friday against Louisville. It will be another opportunity in a primetime window for Toney to continue to show he is one of the best young players in the sport.