Miami WR Malachi Toney on pace for historic freshman season

Miami Hurricanes freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney is a special talent. The three star high school recruit received offer letters from a collection of the best programs in the nation but ultimately decided on Miami. The freshman wideout is quietly making a claim to be one of those top tier threats along side the likes of Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State.

Currently, Toney leads the Hurricanes in receptions (38), receiving yards (510) and is second on the team in touchdowns (3 rec, 4 total) at the halfway point of the 2025 season. Toney also currently leads all FBS receivers in most receptions without a dropped pass, 38 receptions and zero drops. Toney is an explosive player, but his production is steady and consistent. He has only two games over a hundred yards but has had a yards per reception average of over ten in every game. Including the most recent two games where he is over 15 yards per reception.

Toney joins a program with a rich history of pass catching threats. With names like Michael Irvin, Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss, and others Toney finds himself on pace to surpass all of them (as freshmen). Toney is on pace to break the program record for receptions and yards. The current receiving record is 49 receptions for 934 yards set by Ahmmon Richards in 2016.

The freshman record for receiving touchdowns is a slightly taller task. That record is still held by Michael Irvin with 9. A mark that is not outside Toney’s reach, he’s just further back on the pace. As of the third week in October, Toney currently has 77% of the receptions needed for the record, 54% of the yards needed for the record, but only has 34% of the touchdowns for the record.

Miami’s remaining schedule bodes well for Toney’s record chances

The Hurricanes are in a less advantageous situation today than they were in only a week ago. With three wins against their only ranked opponents on the schedule, the three-point loss to Louisville came at a crippling point in the schedule. The Miami schedule was front loaded. Meaning the bulk of their in-conference schedule is yet to be played. Prior to the Louisville game, Miami was the No. 2 team in the country. After the Louisville game, they almost fell out of the top 10.

The ACC conference standings present a different challenge. Miami needs to win out to have any control over their post season destiny. Currently sitting at 1-1, Miami has played the least conference games of anyone in the ACC. However, they do not face another projected top 25 team the rest of the way. Stanford, SMU, Syracuse, NC State, Virginia Tech and Pitt remain, while only SMU and Stanford sit higher than Miami in the standings.

If Miami can play as they have for much of the season, the situational football aspects should benefit Toney’s chances to own all three freshman receiving records. In each of the games they’ve won, Miami jumped out to significant early leads. If Miami is able to play the lower ranked ACC teams as expected, there is more than a good chance Toney could see significant production in building those leads. If the games against SMU and Stanford are closer than expected, Toney could factor in more heavily regarding touchdown production.

Miami finds themselves in a common situation for pro teams. Shoot for the wild card (or the at large bid) because winning the division (or the conference) is a long shot. Miami is currently sitting at the No. 9 spot of 17 in the ACC with a record of 1-1. Behind five teams with at least three conference wins. Despite that, Miami is also currently the No. 9 ranked team in the country and very much still in the college football playoff hunt. If Miami can win their remaining games, they would finish with a 7-1 record in conference. Of the ACC unbeatens, Miami plays SMU in two weeks but does not have Georgia Tech or Virginia on the schedule.

If Toney is to set all three receiving records, he will need to continue to be a focal point of the offense as they attempt to gain ground in the ACC standings. This Saturday, Miami welcomes Stanford to Miami Gardens with a 7:00pm kickoff on ESPN.