Miami Recruiting: Malachi Toney's Decision 'BIG' for Canes
The Miami Hurricanes have gained the verbal commitment from Malachi Toney. He had already become a big-time recruit from famed Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage.
The elusive and explosive 5-foot-9 and 165-pound wide receiver broke onto the scene last year with an impressive freshman campaign, including the contest versus Los Alamitos (Calif.) High School on national television.
I’m not big headed it’s just self confidence 💯overall Great game pic.twitter.com/O9vfMmd3vN
— Malachi Toney (@MALACHITONEY2) August 28, 2022
Now a sophomore, Toney has already become one of the key components of this year’s American Heritage team. Head coach Mike Smith has been very high on Toney coming into this season. He had reason to based on yours truly seeing Toney during a recent American Heritage practice.
The quickness and speed were already present last season – and each area improved this year based on practice – but now it’s evident that Toney has matured and started to take more of a lead role with the team. That point elevated Toney’s status as a recruit and teammate. That brings us back to the prime point of this article.
BREAKING: Star American Heritage Plantation (FL) 2026 WR Malachi Toney commits to Miami
— Frank Tucker (@TheCribSouthFLA) August 23, 2023
The freshman All-American holds over 25 offers & totaled 700+ yards plus 8 TDs last yearhttps://t.co/p6fwfKyzfP@canes_county | @Rivals pic.twitter.com/6y929BFESb
With Mario Cristobal and Miami trying to keep as many key 2026 recruits home as possible, Toney’s public announcement for The U was a shoutout to other top underclassmen recruits that Miami wants to get back to being a national title contender.
The Hurricanes staff has continued to put forth great effort in building a South Florida pipeline of top talent to Coral Gables. The 2024 class already saw seven players from Dade County and Broward County select the Hurricanes.
With Toney’s commitment, the 2026 class has already started to form the infrastructure of keeping top recruits home as well. If Miami continues to add top prospects from South Florida, the football program will continue to elevate towards top-tier status.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.