Why Malachi Toney’s stats vs. Miami’s other WRs show Hurricanes should be worried originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
No. 1 Miami faces its biggest test of the year on Friday, locking horns with No. 11 Notre Dame in South Bend.
Advertisement
With star wide receiver Malachi Toney set to undergo surgery on a high ankle sprain he suffered in the lead-up to the contest, the matchup got that much more difficult for the Hurricanes.
With the greatest respect to Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Oregon State’s Jesse Legree, there arguably isn’t a wide receiver in the nation who has been more pivotal to its team success than Toney this season. He has accounted for nearly 40 percent of Miami’s receiving yards and nearly half of the Hurricanes’ receiving touchdowns this season. With the Liberty City native under repair, the Hurricanes are expected to employ a wideout-by-committee approach to its pass game.
With that, here’s an exhaustive look at all the players who could expect to see increased touches in Toney’s absence.
MORE: Latest injury updates on Miami star Malachi Toney
Advertisement
Here’s what the Hurricanes’ receiving ranks look like following Toney’s injury.
|
WR-X
|
WR-Slot
|
WR-Z
|
|
Daylyn Upshaw
|
Malachi Toney (out)
|
Cooper Barkate
|
|
Vandrevius Jacobs
|
Vance Spafford
|
Somourian Wingo
|
|
Tyran Evans
|
Nick Thomas
|
Milan Parris
|
Barkate is the likeliest candidate to make an impact from the X in Toney’s absence. He has history with Hurricanes QB Darian Mensah, having caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns during his lone season at Duke in 2025. Barkate is the Hurricanes’ second-leading receiver thus far, amassing nearly 400 yards on the year. A fifth-year senior with two 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, Barkate figures to be the biggest beneficiary (at least in terms of touches) to Toney’s ailment.
Barkate was expected to anchor the wide receiver room alongside Toney heading into the year, even earning a spot on the Fred Biletnikoff Award preseason watchlist. His numbers look far less gaudy than he might have expected prior to landing in Vice City. If the Hurricanes have any chance of maintaining their post as college football’s best side, they’ll need greater production from their fifth-year wideout.
Advertisement
MORE: NFL Draft QB rankings, risers and fallers for 2027
A true sophomore out of Columbia, Georgia, Upshaw didn’t enroll at Miami with the highest expectations. Upshaw was a three-star recruit in high school, drawing rave reviews for his athleticism and quickness out of the blocks. Upshaw traditionally plays on the outside. With Toney on the mend, he could see some snaps in the slot — especially if Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson looks to give big-play threat Vandrevious Jacobs some burn out wide.
Upshaw has seen a steady uptick in touches compared to his 2025 marks, collecting 22 grabs for 263 yards and two touchdowns in 2026.
Advertisement
A three-star prospect out of nearby Fort Pierce, Jacobs initially got his start at Florida State before leaving for South Carolina as a redshirt freshman. In his final year with the Gamecocks, Jacobs impressed, ranking second in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns behind Nyck Harbor.
Listed as a four-star transfer talent by 247Sports, Jacobs was a welcome addition to the Hurricanes after losing Keelan Marion and CJ Daniels to graduation. He has played sparingly since arriving on campus, producing just nine catches thus far. Shot sample size notwithstanding, Jacobs has been remarkably productive with his grabs — four of his nine catches has been for 19 or more yards. Jacobs is no sure thing, but he performed well in matchups against elite opposition in South Carolina, tallying seven catches for 128 yards and one touchdown against Missouri, four catches for 64 yards and one touchdown against Texas A&M and seven catches for 141 yards and one touchdown against Clemson last season. He could see some decent burn in the coming few weeks.
MORE: First CFP rankings, 12-team bracket of 2026 season revealed
Advertisement
Wingo was one of the stars of Miami’s early-season slate, collecting multiple catches in three of the Hurricanes’ first four games and finding the end zone with a lengthy score against Florida A&M.
It’s been much harder for Wingo to get involved in the Hurricanes’ attack since then, although a two-catch showing in garbage minutes against Pittsburgh suggest he’s not completely out of Mario Cristobal’s thinking. A four-star recruit out of West Augustine, Wingo isn’t the first, second or third choice to replicate Toney’s production. Nevertheless, some think he has NFL potential down the road. If the Hurricanes’ evaluators think similarly, they could try to go to him in spot minutes during the stretch run.
Advertisement
Rounding out the list of potential options Cristobal and Co. could turn to in Toney’s absence is Spafford, a four-star recruit from Mission Viejo, Calif. who flipped his commitment from Georgia to join the Hurricanes. Unlike his counterparts, Spafford is something of a natural replacement for Toney, also plying his trade in the slot. With just six catches for 78 yards to his name so far, the freshman doesn’t feel like a viable option to replace Toney. But if Cristobal and Dawson want continuity within their ranks, they could turn to Spafford, a speedy and elusive wideout who has shown signs of promise on option routes.
Here’s how Toney’s numbers stack up with the rest of the Hurricanes’ pass-catchers. They’ll have their work cut out for them if they hope to at all mimic the sophomore standout’s nose for catches and touchdowns.
|
Malachi Toney
|
Everyone else
|
|
73
|
Receptions
|
135
|
|
1,027
|
Yards
|
1,632
|
|
14.1
|
Yards per catch
|
12.1
|
|
13
|
Receiving touchdowns
|
15
|
MORE NCAA FOOTBALL:
Advertisement
