Malachi Toney receives honor that will have Miami fans pumped about what's ahead

Malachi Toney was the best freshman in the country last year and now On3/Rivals expects the Hurricanes wide receiver to level up in 2026. The site dropped it's way-too-early All-American Team and Toney is one of the wide receivers along with Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith.

Toney became the first freshman to have a 1,000-yard season at Miami and his 109 receptions for 1,211 yards this season set a new standard for productivity at the position for the Hurricanes. It's all the more remarkable when you realize that Toney reclassified to the 2025 recruiting class and was just 17 years old when the season began.

Malachi Toney is an On3 way-too-early All American

Toney proved to be a big-game performer right from the start. He opened the season with six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame. Toney scored in three of the Hurricanes' four playoff games, including the game-winning touchdown against Texas A&M after losing a fumble earlier in the game. In the CFP Championship Game against Indiana, Toney had 10 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. 

It's laughable to think that Toney was a fringe composite four-star prospect in the 2025 class despite him leading American Heritage to a state championship as quarterback when the starting quarterback went down. Whether he's catching passes, taking handoffs or throwing passes on trick plays, there isn't much Toney showed he couldn't do in his first year with the Hurricanes. But the one thing that helped Toney stand out from the pack was his toughness. Despite being listed at just 5-foot-11 and 188 pounds, Toney was always willing to sell out as a blocker in the run game or on the perimeter. 

Miami is doing everything possible to make sure that Toney can match or surpass his efforts in 2025. The wide receiving group has several complimentary pieces and could add more. And if the Hurricanes can add quarterback Darian Mensah to the roster, it would arguably make Miami the most explosive offense in the country.