Gators WR Kadarius Toney Destined for NFL Success Due to Uncanny Versatility
Versatility, on and off the field.
A common topic discussed during the closing period of this year’s draft has been players' dedication to the game. Despite the questions of someone's internal drive being a viable concern for NFL squads looking to invest in young talent for years to come, the rationalizations for disputing one's commitment have grown tiresome.
With head scratching misconceptions of dedication versus outside hobbies surfacing in recent weeks, Florida Gators wide receiver Kadarius Toney remains at the forefront of concentrated nitpicking and defamation of character for non-football-related concerns.
Since he arrived in Gainesville in 2017, Toney has built his own path to success through the means of versatility.
Entering the collegiate ranks as a dual-threat quarterback under former Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain, Toney would quickly undergo a difficult transition to wide receiver in the summer before his freshman season. As an unexpected period of his life, Toney believes that move from passer to pass-catcher altered — not just his game — but also his life for the better.
"I reflect on it from time to time, more on the basis of how it really changed my life in a way. Because I wouldn't be here today probably if I didn't make that change. ... [It] put me in a position to be successful," said the Mobile (Ala.) native.
Finding his way into the offensive game plan in a limited capacity as a freshman, Toney’s elusiveness when toting the rock would impress, creating excitement to see more from the gifted playmaker. However, the development of fundamental skills as a receiver remained unseen, causing an abundance of unrest within the Florida fan base.
Showing his talent when handling the ball, Toney would force head coach Dan Mullen to find ways for him to operate — primarily via designed plays — immediately upon Mullen’s arrival as the Gators' new head coach. However, Mulle was unable to do so as often as both sides hoped in his first two years due to Toney’s lack of consistency in one given position.
Considering the importance of consistency, Toney utilized what many have deemed the most challenging offseason in recent memory for a collegiate athlete to shape himself into a complete player.
"My mindset is to always stay focused, like no matter what it is. You can never overlook the little stuff. You can never get complacent in what you're doing, so it's more of an everyday just staying consistent. Consistency...”
Finally emerging in his senior season as more than a gadget player, the Human Joystick would home in on his skillset as a wideout, progressing tremendously in the aspects of route running and sure-handedness.
Posting 70 receptions for 984 yards and ten touchdowns through the air as well as 19 carries for 161 yards and one touchdown, Toney accounted for an absurd 11 and a half yards per touch for the high-powered Gators offense in 2020.
Seeing a meteoric rise in his draft stock, as a result, the once-athleticism reliant weapon became a valuable focal point in the Florida offense alongside tight end — and future top-ten draft selection — Kyle Pitts.
However, what sets Toney apart from the pack — other than the absurd manner in which he can maneuver his body to make people miss — is his oft-criticized passion off the field, rap music.
Since Toney began the draft process, his hobby of rap has been coined as a possible distractor from football, one that takes away from his dedication to the game, a belief he combats by simply saying football "is what I was born to do."
However, the idea that one must eat, sleep and breathe football to be considered passionate about their craft leads to out-of-touch expectations for those athletes and has continued to be proven incorrect by current and former draft prospects in recent years.
As former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Nick Foles once said upon arriving for his short stint in Jacksonville, “we’re all more than football players. ... If your identity is solely in football, you’re going to be lost at the end of this.”
This sentiment was echoed in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenburg with the presumptive first overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence.
“I don’t have this huge chip on my shoulder, that everyone’s out to get me and I’m trying to prove everybody wrong,” Lawrence said. I think that’s unhealthy to a certain extent, just always thinking that you’ve got to prove somebody wrong, you’ve got to do more, you’ve got to be better.”
Creating a narrative that sounds as if Lawrence is not playing the sport whole-heartedly, the NFL world began to run with his words, mistaking his open eyes of there being “more in life than playing football,” as his now-wife Marissa says, as a lack of desire to be great.
The same backlash received by Lawrence — and even Foles despite his accomplishments — following their comments has been a constant for the Gators star in his pre-draft period, with proclaimed former and current NFL scouts questioning his work ethic.
For Toney, music creates an asylum from the pressures that the game brings.
“It’s a hobby, but I’m going to carry it over throughout my life. That’s really gotten me through college in a way, as far as being able to express myself and different stuff I go through. [It's] always been there, like, since I was younger. I never really took it serious until I got to college, where I knew I had kind of a platform in a way,” Toney said.
In the same breath, Toney mentioned rap as a way to relate with others and inspire teammates and fans alike. “I was touching peoples’ lives. A few teammates love my music. Fans definitely love my music. I have DMs all the time, like, ‘bro, your music is so inspirational’ and stuff like that. I know the impact that it has on people, so I’ve been trying to keep it consistent.”
As a talented athlete and artist known as Yung Joka, Toney has proven many doubters wrong throughout his collegiate career. Doing so without allowing his aspirations as a rapper to overshadow his production on the field, Toney balanced his multiple passions effectively while in blue and orange.
Overcoming the adversities of a position change, injuries in 2019 accompanied by a lack of meaningful touches in a crowded wide receiver room and more, his road to realizing an unknown dream has been anything but ordinary.
Meanwhile, music has brought peace and stability to the hectic life of a student-athlete, a facet of Toney that will continue to aid him in his next step rather than harm him as he mirrors his versatile skillset on the field with an equally as versatile skillset off the field.
All in all, one's identity does not start and stop with the occupational title they hold or the sport that they play, something Toney looks to prove when he hears his name called from the pool of draft candidates in Cleveland.
When his name does come over the loudspeakers in The Land, one of 32 teams will be receiving a dynamic asset to utilize in several different roles offensively while adding an affable personality into their locker room.
Related: What Florida Gators WR Kadarius Toney Will Bring To His NFL Team
