Malachi Toney opens up on staying home to play for Miami and it's amazing

Maybe it's too soon to call Malachi Toney the King of Miami, but the title feels accurate.

The Miami Hurricanes have a very clear history of local guys that have done extremely well in the program. Howard Schellenberger very much credits local products Alonzo Highsmith and Melvin Bratton as the start of the modern era of "The U" and, of course, there are so many more (Michael Irvin, Sean Taylor, Andre Johnson, Willis McGahee, Dan Morgan, etc. etc. etc).

But Toney's attachment to Miami, while not any more unique than the other stars that have come through, feels even more authentic. Maybe some of that is the social media age, but some of it is just the fact that the Hurricanes are back to dominating local recruiting and Toney is the ambassador for Miami guys playing for the home team.

"It makes me feel great that I get to do this in my city," Toney said. "I ain't gotta go no where else. I don't have to go three hours away, five hours away, I get to do it 20 minutes from the park I used to play at when I was eight years old."

Malachi Toney revels in being the hometown hero

This is no criticism of the players from the area that have decided to search for success elsewhere. Everyone has to make a decision for themselves. Would it be amazing to see Jeremiah Smith in Miami? Heck yeah. But he had to handle his business and no one can sit here honestly and say they don't understand why he chose Ohio State and that it was a bad decision. 

But Toney's superstar status in his hometown is a testament to how good things can be for the local guys when the Hurricanes are strong. Earlier this week, there were a bunch of kids at the Hurricanes practice and Toney is their hero. He's the guy they pretend to be when they are playing in the youth leagues at Gibson Park and Armbrister Park before they go on to the high school games at Tropical Park and Traz Powell Stadium. 

"It makes me feel great just to see those 'younger mes' out there supporting me while I'm out here on this journey getting better each and every day," Toney added.