Clemson DC Tom Allen Details Game Plan For Miami Standout Receiver Malachi Toney

On Saturday night, Clemson football will face an opposing player who is one of a kind in college football. Defensive coordinator Tom Allen already knows that well.

The No. 4 Miami Hurricanes come into town with a consensus top receiver in the entire country: sophomore Malachi Toney. The wideout is in the top five in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns to begin the season, and Allen knows the Hurricanes will get the ball his way by whatever means necessary.

But what makes it difficult is the amount of different places Miami lines him up, as well as what he does in motion.

“[It] definitely makes it more challenging, which is why they do it,” Allen said on Tuesday. “So, we got a whole chart where he’s at, and what they do when he’s in these spots and all those different things, like every defense does.”

Toney has picked up 34 receptions, 564 yards and six touchdowns on the season thus far, but put really put his name at the national scale during the Hurricanes’ national championship run that fell to Indiana in the final. He recorded a touchdown in all but one of the games, including the national championship, where he added 10 receptions for 122 yards as well.

And in every game, opposing defenses are at a disadvantage due to the amount of places he can hurt a team when on the field.

“That, to me, is a big part of, you talk about, ‘Where’s Waldo’ kind of thing,” he said. ‘You got to know where he’s at all the time, and the position that they put him in because, like, it’s interesting.”

Allen has been studying the sophomore for quite some time, and when his assistants are bringing him film from Miami’s offense, the same things keeps coming up that lead to the success.

The ball is going to Toney.

“No matter what it is, he’s the one that always just pops,” Allen said. “He’s the one they’re getting the ball to. He’s the one making the big plays, and it’s been impressive to see what he’s done this season so far.”

Clemson will have to worry about plenty of other things throughout the contest on Saturday, including Duke transfer quarterback Darian Mensah and standout running back Mark Fletcher Jr., but the focal point in Miami’s air raid starts with Toney.

It’s not a matter of if he gets going, it will be a matter of when. Allen just hopes his team is able to disrupt the offense to stay out of a flow.

“I just think anytime you face an offense that is scoring 50 points a game and 600 yards a game, and really hasn’t been slowed down much, it’s just, you got to do it,” he said. “You got to do things to get them out of that rhythm.”

The Tigers will kick off against Miami at 7:30 p.m. from Memorial Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

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