College football fans are divided over Jeremiah Smith-Malachi Toney debate
As college football teams kicked off their seasons this weekend, two wide receivers quickly established early cases for being the best at the position.
On Friday night, Malachi Toney and the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes defeated the Stanford Cardinal, 45-6. Quarterback Darian Mensah is at the top of the odds to win the Heisman Trophy after completing 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns.
Toney was the game’s top receiver, tallying 234 yards and three touchdowns on 12 receptions. He averaged 19.5 yards per reception in a major statement to start his season.
On Saturday, the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes blew out Ball State, 56-3, to begin the season 1-0. Potential Heisman Trophy contender Julian Sayin threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns, including a 48-yard touchdown pass to Smith.
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Smith had eight receptions in the game, racking up 151 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 18.9 yards per reception.
With Miami’s Toney and Ohio State’s Smith beginning their seasons with impressive performances, fans weighed in on ESPN’s X post about who the best wide receiver in college football is.
“Not a single College Coach, NFL Head Coach, or NFL GM, would take Toney over Smith. And it’s not even close,” one individual commented.
“One of them played against a 4 win MAC team at home btw,” a commenter mentioned, referring to Smith and the Buckeyes playing Ball State.
“I have no bias. I’d take Malachi Toney. I love the fight in that guy. Smith has great physical ability. But, some guys have that mental edge where you just can’t beat them. Toney has it,” another commenter said.
“Do you care about stats or care about who is better? Because there’s 0 question that Smith is better than Toney,” a commenter wrote.
ESPN’s Jordan Reid listed Smith as the No. 4 pick in his early NFL mock draft late last month. Three quarterbacks were ahead of him: Oregon’s Dante Moore, Texas’s Arch Manning, and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr.
Reid suggested that the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Smith could be a potential upgrade at receiver for the Miami Dolphins, who currently have Malik Willis at quarterback.
Toney, 18, is a 5-foot-11, 188-pound sophomore playing in his second season under head coach Mario Cristobal. The Hurricanes are looking to outdo last season’s CFP run, which featured an appearance in the National Championship Game, where they lost to Indiana.
Ohio State, currently ranked as the top team in college football, also has championship aspirations after losing to Miami in the CFP quarterfinals. With Smith playing more games like he did on Saturday, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them competing for that championship.
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