Nothing talented freshman Malachi Toney does surprises Hurricanes anymore

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CORAL GABLES — When his high school team needed him, Malachi Toney moved from wide receiver to quarterback. He did not just perform adequately — he excelled.

Toney helped lead Broward County powerhouse American Heritage to last year’s state title, completing his first 15 passes en route to the championship.

Now a standout freshman receiver at Miami, Toney is helping deliver a jolt to the Miami Hurricanes offense with his arm. Toney, who threw a touchdown pass to quarterback Carson Beck in a win over Syracuse, threw a 44-yard pass that set up another score in the win over N.C. State. In addition to the deep pass against the Wolfpack, he had two touchdown catches to help the Hurricanes roll to a blowout victory.

“No, there’s nothing that’s really surprised me from Day 1,” Beck said after the N.C. State game. “Shoot, even when I was in a cast, not even playing, I’m out there watching practice during spring ball, really Day 1, and I was just like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m glad that he’s on our team. I can’t wait to throw to this man.’

Toney has excelled at the typical wide receiver role throughout the season. He leads the Hurricanes with 59 catches and 698 receiving yards, and he is second on the team with five touchdowns. His 86.6 receiving grade from Pro Football Focus is No. 1 in the ACC and fifth nationally among receivers with 50 or more targets.

Now, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said, the Hurricanes can start adding specialty plays to his responsibilities. Toney threw a deep pass that set up a touchdown and just missed a throw to freshman Girard Pringle Jr. that might have gone for a score.

“He’s good to game plan for because he’s on the field all the time,” Dawson said. “… When you’re a package guy, it’s hard to design stuff for you because once you do it one time, it’s over. (Opponents) know when you bring that guy in, you’re going to do this or you’re going to do something like that. And so it’s easier with Mali because he’s in the game all the time. So they don’t know when we’re going to do whatever we’re going to do.”

The Hurricanes have mixed it up with Toney. They have lined him up in the backfield, let him run a Wildcat formation, had him throw passes and run reverses.

“Getting to know him and his skill set and tinkering with it and figuring out different things you can do with him is fun,” Dawson said. “And sometimes some plays get called, sometimes they don’t.”

Throughout the season, Miami coach Mario Cristobal has attributed Toney’s success to almost a maniacal approach to working on his game.

“The best part about that guy is his approach,” Cristobal said. “It’s a relentless, manic, O.C.D., with an unbelievable attitude, with unbelievable energy, approach to the game. Everything he wants to do is get better, help his teammates win. Watch him when his teammates are scoring and having success. You’ll see more energy than when he scores himself. It’s really awesome to see.”

Next opponent makes big hire

Virginia Tech fired it former coach, Brent Pry, in September after a dismal start to the season. The Hokies already found his replacement.

Virginia Tech is expected to hire former Penn State coach James Franklin — who was also fired this fall — to take over the program, according to multiple reports.

In addition to his time at Penn State, where he led the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff semifinals last year, Franklin previously coached at Vanderbilt. He has a 128-60 record.

Thomas named ACC’s top defensive back

Toney was not the only player to earn a conference award for his performance against N.C. State.

Safety Jakobe Thomas was named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week after having an excellent game on Saturday. Thomas had two interceptions in the win and led the nation with a 97.9 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus.

Thomas has 43 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and four interceptions this season.

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