The game of the year just lost a bit of its cachet with the news that Miami superstar Malachi Toney is undergoing ankle surgery for an injury he reportedly sustained Wednesday in practice.
The sophomore wide receiver was seemingly destined for a trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony, and the Hurricanes were on track for a College Football Playoff berth. Now, the No.1 team in Tuesday’s initial College Football Playoff rankings might be in trouble without the straw that stirs the drink for Miami’s offense.
On “The Dan Le Batard Show” Thursday morning, the crew reacted to the news of Toney’s devastating injury and discussed how it could affect the rest of Miami’s season.
“This is heartbreaking,” Le Batard said. “That injury is — I know [Aleksander] Barkov obviously felt bad. But I don’t know why it is that this seems like it feels worse. I don’t know whether it’s college football. I don’t know whether it’s this rivalry. I don’t know whether it’s about waiting 20 years for Miami to actually be back and to be a consensus No.1. And then, Malachi Tony goes down, and everyone here in Miami received that news the same way.”
Toney, a 19-year-old true sophomore, has been nothing short of spectacular this season. Through eight games, he has 73 receptions for 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has as many games with double-digit catches this season as he does with single-digit catches.
It’s difficult to pick his best performance. Was it the 12-catch, 234-yard, three-touchdown performance to open the season against Stanford? Or the 11 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns he recorded against Florida State in that double-overtime thriller? Maybe it was his 16 catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns against Pitt.
They’re all ridiculous stat lines, and they illustrate why Toney became the Heisman frontrunner alongside his quarterback, Darian Mensah. That was especially true after Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith’s Heisman candidacy lost some momentum following the injury to his quarterback, Julian Sayin.
Mike Ryan, longtime cast member and show producer for Le Batard, as well as a Miami football insider and member of CanesInSight, which delivers daily, in-depth coverage of the Hurricanes, had this to say on Thursday’s show:
“I thought they were going to win on Saturday,” Ryan said. “I thought they were gonna win on Saturday. I thought the added juice of the CFP basically telling you, ‘Hey, if Notre Dame loses this game, they won’t be able to survive it. They’ll be saying no to the Pop Tart Bowl again.’
And it’s gonna be really, really hard. Malachi’s been dealing with an ankle all year long. And every time he goes out, Miami’s just not bad offensively — Miami’s like three-and-out bad. And there have been plenty — the reason why Mensa is in this Heisman campaign is he’s been excellent — but every time there’s a got to have it down, he’s looking at No. 1, and No.1 makes the play.
Think about all the times games have kind of been hanging in the balance — because Miami’s been challenged a bunch — but third and long against Clemson. How does third and 18 against Pitt look if you don’t have a Malachi Tony on the field?
This is a hugely consequential player. He has been the go-to guy. He doesn’t have a drop in his career. He makes miraculous game-breaking plays that only he can make. And hell, the plays that have been called back, no one else in the nation is capable of making.
This is a devastating injury for Miami.”
It’s a tough pill to swallow for the Hurricanes, who will hope to hold down the fort until Toney can return. His availability moving forward remains uncertain.
After traveling to South Bend this Saturday to take on the Fighting Irish, Miami hosts three consecutive conference opponents to close out the regular season: Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College.
Dan Le Batard Reacts to ‘Heartbreaking’ Malachi Toney Injury News