How old is Malachi Toney? Explaining eligibility for Miami star who should still be in high school originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Miami Hurricanes are just one win away from the school’s first national title since 2001. A big reason for the Canes’ success during its College Football Playoff run is the stellar play of true freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney.
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In Miami’s wins over Texas A&M, Ohio State and Ole Miss, Toney has 15 receptions for 119 yards with two touchdowns. He also had four punt returns for 82 yards against the Aggies.
Toney is a true freshman, which makes his performance impressive in itself. But what makes it even more eye-opening is that Toney is actually supposed to still be in high school in 2025. Toney reclassified to the class of 2024 to enroll a year early at Miami.
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How old is Malachi Toney?
Malachi Toney was born on Sept. 17, 2007 in South Florida, which makes him just 18 years old. When Toney enrolled at Miami in Jan. 2025, he was still just 17.
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What year in Malachi Toney?
Toney is a true freshman. He is Miami’s leading receiver, with 99 receptions for 1,089 yards with nine touchdowns on the season. He also has 19 punt returns for 273 yards on the season, as well.
Toney, listed at 5-foot-11, 189 pounds, actually primarily played quarterback as a youth football player.
“He was a quarterback in Little League,” Toney’s American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) high school coach, Mike Smith, told The Sporting News via phone interview. “When he came here in eighth grade, going into his freshman year, he knew because of his size, that he was probably going to be a receiver. He would run around practice every day, throwing the ball.”
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That came in handy during American Heritage’s 2024 state championship run. The school’s starting quarterback, Texas Longhorns 2025 signee Dia Bell, went down with a broken ankle. Toney, who was also dealing with a high ankle sprain himself, came off the bench and led his team to a 24-14 victory over Dillard.
“This is a game that Malachi didn’t even dress in, because he had a high ankle sprain,” Smith recalled. “So he wasn’t even dressed in the first half of the game. We were down 14. And he tapped me on the shoulder right before halftime. He’s like, ‘I’m gonna go get dressed.’ But that wasn’t to play quarterback. That was to play receiver.”
Bell broke his ankle in the second half of the game.
“[I said] ‘Malachi go get ready,'” Smith said, “I watched him in pregame. He was limping around, he could barely run. I’m like, ‘I don’t know how this is going to go.’ But he proceeds to go in there and flawlessly take over and we scored 24 unanswered points.”
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American Heritage finished the season on a 3-0 run en route to a 4A state championship with Toney playing quarterback. His team beat powerhouse Jones High School 40-31 in the state title game.
Toney finished the season going 38-of-53 for 524 yards passing with eight touchdowns and just one interception. He had another 228 yards rushing with four touchdowns on 36 carries, and led the team in receiving with 1,018 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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Malachi Toney college reclassification
Toney arrived at Miami a season sooner than expected. Although he was supposed to be a class of 2026 recruit, he re-classified to Miami’s 2025 class. That means that technically, while Toney is lighting up power-conference defenses in college football, he is actually supposed to be playing his last season of high school.
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“For 99.9% of the kids, I would say, ‘don’t do it,’ Smith said. “But this kid is mature beyond his years. And I’m not just talking on the field. I knew talent-wise, he was ready. But you always question whether this kid, from a maturity standpoint, off the field, is ready. This kid’s been since he was a freshman in high school.”
Toney’s father is a former NFL receiver, Antonio Brown. No, not the former Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver. His dad played for West Virginia before spending three seasons in the NFL from 2003-2005 with the Buffalo Bill and Washington. He was primarily a punt returner.
“His maturity in his preparation is what sticks out,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of Toney in April 2025. “It’s 5:30 in the morning, he’ll be out there catching some extra jugs. … If he makes a mistake, he’s going to come in and watch some extra film, spend time with some of the veteran players, spend time with the coaches and learn what he has to get better at. You can push him hard.”
Toney’s work ethic and love of football shone during Smith’s time with his former receiver. His coach added that Toney would try to beat him in film-watching competitions that players and coaches would have during the season.
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“He generally loves football,” Smith said. “He could be in a football facility from 6am to 6pm— that excites him.”
“I’ll get a call from him at three o’clock in the morning, ‘coach, if they’re playing the coverage like this,’ I’m like, ‘man Malachi, go to bed!'” Smith added with a laugh.
“I just knew, from a maturity standpoint, that he was ready,” Smith continued. “Look, this kid [is] still supposed to be in high school. And you can argue he’s the best receiver in the country right now.”
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Malachi Toney high school recruiting
Toney was a 4-star recruit from the class of 2025, rated as the No. 49 receiver in his class, and the No. 51 rated player out of the state of Florida per 247Sports. Although he de-committed and re-committed to Miami a couple times during his recruiting process, he signed with the Canes in Dec. 2024, and enrolled at Miami the next month.
“Malachi is a very loyal kid,” Smith said of his decision to play at Miami. “I think he understood the importance of growing up here, being a little league superstar, being a superstar at the high school level, you know, seeing how the South Florida community looked at him.”
Toney’s old teammate, Miami junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr., is the Canes’ leading rusher. American Heritage has two other former players on Miami’s roster in defensive backs Xavier Lucas and Damari Brown. Smith feels Cristobal’s ability to recruit South Florida successfully is only growing.
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“Cristobal has molded it into those old Miami Hurricane football teams,” Smith said. “The parents of these kids that lived through those times, they’re seeing it now, and they’re understanding that you don’t have to go to the Alabama’s and the Georgia’s and the Ohio State’s. You can do it right here in South Florida and have pride in the community and that’s what this thing has been built on.”
Malachi Toney stats compared to best true freshman WRs ever
Toney’s 2025 season is going to be up there with one of the greatest performances for a true freshman at his position. The most recent comparison is Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes finished with over 1,000 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns. Let’s take a look at how Toney’s performance compares to other true freshmen studs. Toney playing on special teams might put him over the top.
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Malachi Toney, Miami (2025): 1,089 yards receiving with nine touchdowns, 113 rushing yards with a touchdowns
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Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (2024): 1,315 yards receiving with 15 touchdowns, 17.3 YPC
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Kevin Concepcion, NC State (2023): 839 yards receiving with 10 touchdowns, 11.8 YPC, 320 yards rushing
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David Bell, Purdue (2019): 1,035 yards receiving with seven touchdowns, 12.0 YPC, 1 rushing touchdown
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Rondale Moore, Purdue (2018): 1,258 yards with 12 touchdowns, 11.0 YPC, 213 yards rushing with two touchdowns
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KD Cannon, Baylor (2014): 1,030 yards with eight touchdowns, 17.8 YPC 8
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Marqise Lee, USC (2011)1,143 yards with 11 touchdowns,15.7 YPC 11
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Sammy Watkins, Clemson (2011): 1,219 yards with 12 touchdowns, 14.9 YPC, 231 rushing yards :
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Mike Williams, USC (2002): 1,265 yards with 14 touchdowns, 15.6 YPC
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Ronney Daniels, Auburn (1999): 1,068 yards receiving with nine touchdowns, 19.1 YPC
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Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt (2002): 1,005 yards receiving with 12 touchdowns, 14.6 YPC
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