Malachi Toney’s first taste of the big stage ended in disaster.
A freshman at the time for Broward County powerhouse American Heritage, Toney was trying to help the Patriots drive for a game-tying touchdown against Rueben Bain Jr.-led Miami Central in the state title game at Chase Stadium, the home of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
Toney caught a pass and turned upfield, but Miami Central linebacker — and future teammate — Ezekiel Marcelin punched the ball free. The Rockets recovered the loose ball and won the title.
American Heritage’s star running back at the time — and another future teammate — Mark Fletcher Jr. consoled his teammate after the game.
“That’s one of the best freshmen I’ve ever seen,” Fletcher said after the game. “(He) made a mistake. He’s going to make plenty more mistakes in his career. … One mistake, that (doesn’t) define you as a player.”
Three years later, Toney, Fletcher, Bain and Marcelin are all on the same team at Miami. Bain and Fletcher are starters, and Bain is a likely top draft pick in next year’s NFL draft. But Toney, who was on the wrong end of that fumble in 2022, has blossomed into not only one of the best freshmen in the nation but one of the best players in the country at any position and any age.
“I wouldn’t tell (my younger self) nothing,” Toney said. “I’d just let him go through the process, because that’s what made me who I am today.”
Toney’s road to stardom at Miami was not a direct line. He committed to UM as a sophomore in August 2023, but he backed off his pledge in October 2024. Toney also reclassified from the 2026 class to 2025, allowing him to start college as a 17-year-old.
Toney ultimately did rejoin Miami’s 2025 class. The move has paid off.
“Key points we took into perspective: exposure, playing time and knowledge. And will you get an opportunity?” Malachi Toney’s mother, Toni Toney, said. “We had three key things, and they checked out the box for all of them. We will be on TV. You will get an opportunity if you go and do what you’re supposed to do. And your learning ability, your coaches: (Mario) Cristobal, Kevin Beard, Shannon Dawson, of course. Now look.”
Toney was not a megaprospect like former South Florida standout Jeremiah Smith, who was the top-rated player in his class. Toney was a four-star prospect, and 48 wide receivers were ranked ahead of him in 247Sports’ composite rankings.
Toney started generating buzz after arriving at UM for the spring semester. Fighting to replace Xavier Restrepo, who is with the Tennessee Titans now, Toney impressed coaches with his work ethic. He caught a touchdown pass in the Hurricanes’ spring game.
The hype continued to grow in the fall, leading up to Miami’s game against Notre Dame. Toney made his debut on the national stage, catching six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. Since then, Toney has only gotten better.
Eleven games into his college career, Toney is established as one of the nation’s best players. The freshman leads Miami with 71 catches and 844 yards. He has the fourth-best receiving grade in the nation among receivers with 50 or more targets this season.
But it’s not just his receiving ability that is drawing attention. Toney led his high school to a state title while filling in at quarterback in his final season. He is using quarterbacking skills lately as Dawson calls plays where Toney can take the ball, make reads and throw downfield. Toney has completed three of four passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a pass for a two-point conversion.
“I seriously think he could go play somewhere and play quarterback, legit,” quarterback Carson Beck said. “He’s just such an incredible talent. And shoot, I’m just glad that he’s on our team.”
Cristobal, Dawson and Toney’s teammates have repeatedly praised Toney’s work ethic, saying he works harder than just about anybody on the team. He is an early-riser, watching film or catching passes from the Jugs machine in the morning. It is working out — because he learned the playbook and his assignments quickly, Dawson started adding more plays to Toney’s repertoire. Now Toney is even helping older players get lined up right sometimes.
“That’s maturity, that’s a guy that’s already bypassed being a freshman, mentally, psychologically ad just thrown himself from a mindset standpoint into a guy that’s been around playing like a junior and a senior,” Cristobal said. “So a credit to him, credit to the people around him, to his coaches. But again, it always starts from within. He’s a self-starter, self-motivated guy.”
Despite the fame that has come with his success, Toney is still the same hard worker. His mother said he is shy, but on Tuesday, Toney was at Washington Park in Hollywood, giving out Thanksgiving turkeys as the debut of his new foundation, the Toney Foundation, which partnered with First Horizon Bank and NETWORK, which is Toney’s representation agency. Going forward, the foundation’s goal is to support families in need.
“It’s a blessing to be in the position that I am now,” Toney said. “To just come to just give back to people — no matter this is not my home city or stuff like that — but it means a lot to come back anywhere. … It’s just a blessing for those who saw me when I was young, seen me grow up now to be able to even give back.”
But while everything that has happened in the past several months has exceeded Toni Toney’s expectations, the fact that her son is achieving his goals is not a surprise.
“Like he said in one of his other interviews, football will humble you,” she said. “But what I did learn with him — his work ethic is through the roof. And when he sets his goals to do something, he’s going to achieve them. And that’s what I always told him. We came to this park when our park shut down, and I told him, ‘You have to go take somebody’s spot.’
“That has been always my motto for my children: work for what you want and you will achieve it.”