Malachi Toney admits he’d be playing in the SEC if not for a coaching change originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Malachi Toney’s path home was not the original plan.
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If Nick Saban had not retired, Toney admits he might be playing in the SEC right now. More specifically, he might have been in Tuscaloosa.
“What turned me to Miami was Nick Saban stepping down,” Toney said. “I used to love Nick Saban. Yeah. So it was Nick Saban.”
That single decision at the top of college football changed everything. For a South Florida native who grew up watching the sport’s gold standard, Alabama represented the blueprint. The discipline. The accountability. Championships as the expectation. When Saban stepped away, the vision Toney had carried since childhood shifted with it.
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“So you wound up choosing a Nick Saban disciple in Mario Cristobal and staying home?” he was asked.
“Yes,” Toney said.
Instead of joining the Crimson Tide, Toney stayed in South Florida and committed to the Miami Hurricanes, placing his trust in a program led by a coach shaped inside the same system that built Alabama’s dynasty. In the process, the decision became a full-circle moment that felt almost surreal.
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He was reminded of a photo that has circulated online showing him as a child at a Miami camp, proudly holding up the U.
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“Yeah,” Toney said. “When I was looking at it, that was one of the moments just like that was crazy. You would never think that would happen. So all glory to God. I’m thankful and blessed to be here.”
For Toney, playing at home carries meaning beyond football. Representing Liberty City and South Florida on a national stage is something he does not take lightly, knowing how rare the opportunity truly is.
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“It means a lot. We earned this opportunity. It’s a blessing,” he said. “Not too many kids growing up, not too many people get to experience this opportunity so we’ve got to take advantage of it.”
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Had the legendary coach stayed on the sidelines, Toney’s Saturdays might look very different. Instead, the retirement that reshaped college football brought him back to where it all started.
