The Miami Hurricanes beat the Fighting Irish 27-24 in their 2025 season opener. The loss made Notre Dame the fourth top-10-ranked team to start with a loss. That alone is enough to make headlines, but the real jaw dropper came by way of Malachi Toney, who managed to lead Miami in both receptions and receiving yards despite being just 17 years old.
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Toney’s college debut officially went down as a big success after he managed to produce 82 yards and a touchdown on six receptions. His great performance and familiar last name have many wondering about his NFL connection.
Well, fans would immediately think he has some sort of relation with the former Kansas City Chiefs WR and first-round draft pick, Kadarius Toney. But the answer is, No.
But he has an NFL pedigree. Toney’s father is former wide receiver Antonio Brown. Wait, no. Not that Antonio Brown.
Miami True Freshman WR Malachi Toney catches his 1st Career TD as a Cane
Big contributor already, and crazy enough, he’s still supposed to be in high school (reclassed last fall)
Learn the name 🙌pic.twitter.com/BmxfkTwxlS
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) September 1, 2025
We are talking about the Brown who played for the Buffalo Bills in 2003 and the Washington Redskins in 2004 and 2005. That Antonio Brown.
Regardless of the NFL connection, Toney’s performance suggests that the true freshman has all the makings of the next big thing. And he seems to know a thing or two about celebrating his success with his kin in style. The gifts that he chose to surprise his family with after he became one of the most sought-after members of the 2025 class are indeed telling.
Thanks to his four-star status, in addition to his athletic pedigree, the Florida native was able to treat his loved ones to some of the newest items from Louis Vuitton after his NIL dealings started to kick in.
Toney had originally committed to the University of Miami back in August of 2023. Once other programs started to share their interest in him, however, he chose to reclassify in September of 2024 before ultimately decommitting from Miami in October of 2024.
Nevertheless, the program’s primary recruiters deserve some credit, as they were able to get another commitment out of Toney just three weeks later. In December 2024, he officially signed with the Hurricanes.
Had it not been for Toney, Miami could have very well found itself on the opposite end of this contest against the Fighting Irish. Apart from C.J. Daniel’s one-handed catch, Toney proved to be the difference maker for the team’s offense.
Wipe away his opening touchdown, and the board quickly flips from a three-point win to a four-point loss for the Hurricanes. Moving forward, the second-generation wide receiver figures to be his program’s equivalent of Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State Buckeyes star, who managed to hog the headlines last year for similar performances.
Should he continue this level of production, Toney’s price tag will continue to climb in value. That could prove to be problematic for Miami at some point down the road. But for the time being, congratulations are in order for everyone who was involved in keeping the Florida native in his home territory.
