After appearing with the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game earlier this year, wide receiver Malachi Toney returned in impressive form for his team's 2026 season opener against Stanford. Miami won 45-6 in a blowout, with quarterback Darian Mensah passing to Toney often throughout the game. Toney made the most of his 12 receptions, finishing with 234 yards and three touchdowns, including a 47-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
While some question the strength of the opponent Miami faced in their first game, many noticed how much Toney appears to have improved as a sophomore. During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," head coach Mario Cristobal revealed what led to that improvement this offseason. "Well, 12-14 pounds of muscle, man.
He can accelerate and decelerate at higher rates," Cristobal shared. "His stop-and-go has taken another step. His flat-out top-end speed, his durability, his entire body just looks different.
He is stronger, he is faster, and then, the time he puts in it's never changed. He always tries to push the envelope with that," Miami's head coach said. More news: Lane Kiffin Goes Viral for Fiery Leaked Halftime Speech Amid LSU Blowout McAfee commented that watching Toney made him think of a throwback player "from 1995 but with the speed and the explosion of 2026." In particular, he mentioned Toney's blocking abilities, which are clearly due to the offseason work he put in.
In addition to putting in work in the weight room, video surfaced months ago from Toney's time spent training on the field in drills with Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who just became a Super Bowl champion in February. Smith-Njigba finished as the NFL's top receiver with his 1,793 receiving yards, also tallying 10 touchdowns for the Seahawks on their path to the postseason. The NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Smith-Njigba, was recently revealed as No. 5 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026 list, as voted on by fellow players.
Based on the work Toney's put in, he's looking to do his best to help get Miami back to the National Championship Game, but this time win the championship. That offseason grind certainly seems like it's been a significant boost, as he's off to a tremendous start after his first game. Toney and the Miami Hurricanes look to improve to 2-0 for their early season, when they play Florida A&M on Thursday night.
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