Hurricanes’ Toney is ‘going to get his,’ but he also opens the field for teammates

The Miami Hurricanes understand the luxury they have in Malachi Toney. The star sophomore wide receiver is one of the top game-changers in college football.

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But the Hurricanes also know they have a room full of other talented wide receivers at quarterback Darian Mensah’s disposal.

“We don’t want to be a throw-the-ball-to-Mali offense,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “I mean, he’s going to get his. We understand that, but we want the ball to be spread around.”

Toney has gotten his so far this season. As No. 5 Miami (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) prepares for its road game against Wake Forest (2-0, 0-0 ACC) on Friday (7:30 p.m., ESPN), Toney ranks third nationally with 330 receiving yards and tied for 10th with 16 catches. He is one of five players nationally with at least 10 catches averaging at least 20 yards per reception.

But Mensah has done an admirable job spreading the ball around.

He has already completed passes to 12 different players, with four having caught touchdown passes from him. When you add in the three-plus quarters the backup offense has played in Miami’s two blowouts thus far, 18 players have at least one catch and six have receiving touchdowns.

“Everybody can eat in this offense,” Toney said.

Toney’s presence, whether he’s getting the ball or not, plays a large role in that. If teams try to cover everyone, it leaves them susceptible to having Toney in 1-on-1 coverage. For most defenses, that’s a daunting task. Toney set school records last season with 109 catches for 1,211 yards while hauling in 10 touchdowns. He’s a mismatch with his elite route-running, soft hands and shiftiness in the open field.

But try to double him up, and that opens up mismatches that the rest of the receiving corps can take advantage of.

And so far, they have. Joshua Moore’s size and speed have been on display, with the sophomore catching four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. Cooper Barkate, who transferred with Mensah from Duke, has shown off his playmaking ability with six catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Daylyn Upshaw’s steady hands that were on display in camp have translated to the field with four catches for 36 yards and a score.

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A trio of Miami freshmen have flashed when in with the No. 2 unit as well as Somourian Wingo, Vance Spafford and Milan Parris have combined for nine catches, 158 yards and two touchdowns.

“We run a system that I call a pass play, and it could go to a lot of different spots, and it’s truly a progression offense. Mali just seems to get open a lot,” Dawson said. “When you get open a lot, you typically get the ball, and obviously the quarterback looks for players that are high-level players. That’s part of playing quarterback — know who your players are. You’ve got to get the playmakers the ball. He understands that, but the ball is getting spread around in a nice way, and I do pay attention to that, and I do appreciate that.”

Added Mensah: “My coach calls the plays, and I try to execute them as well as possible. I go where the defense tells me to go with the football. Malachi runs great routes and gets open frequently, so he receives the ball. But it isn’t a matter of deciding that he must be the first read on a particular play. I’m simply trying to execute the play to the best of my ability.”

Now, it helps when Mensah is playing as efficiently as he has been through his first two weeks at Miami. Mensah has completed 41 of 45 pass attempts for 653 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions.

“He’s very accurate throwing the ball,” Dawson said. “Our protection’s been good. It all works together as we talk about a good bit. I mean, our receiving core is in the right spot at the right time, and he has a really good grasp of what we’re doing. The ball’s out on time, and it’s typically to the right person, and it’s typically accurate. And if those things exist, then you can play very efficiently in a pass game.”

They Hurricanes will need that efficiency as they prepare for arguably their first true test of the season against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are tied for 24th nationally with 15 tackles for loss and tied for 41st nationally with five sacks entering this week. Pro Football Focus has given them a 73.9 grade in coverage, which ranks 59th nationally.

“They’re physical and play extremely hard,” Mensah said. “Their defensive line is really legitimate, so we must be sound with our protections. Their defensive backs are also very solid. They’re going to test us, and we must be mentally prepared.”

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