Even With a Superstar Receiver, No. 5 Miami Doesn't Want to Only Rely on Him

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — No. 5 Miami has one of the best receiver rooms in the country, but it rarely gets to see the light of day thanks to the supernova that already sits in the room.

Malachi Toney is putting on all-time great performances that have drawn eyes to him, even if he is still getting open.

Toney is also getting the most targets, but when he is open like that, it's hard not to get him the ball. Moreover, it's not something that offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson wants to get used to so early in the season.

Sep 10, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (1) looks on during warm ups prior to the game against the Florida A&M Rattlers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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

Moreover, players are getting reps; some can be lost in the motion, with Toney getting all of the attention. Cooper Barkate entered this season as one of the best receivers in the country after his 1000 yard campaign for the Duke Blue Devils.

So far, he only has six receptions for 83 yards in two games. However, he is a touchdown magnet, scoring in each of the first two games. The same can be said for outs on the field. So much talent is being kept in the dark that Dawson wants to show.

Malachi Toney had Florida A&M’s secondary COMPLETELY LOST on this route.

The Hurricanes WR might be the BEST slot route runner in all of CFB 😱🔥

(via 305sportss/IG) pic.twitter.com/5G3gsTKfLc
— Rookie Watch (@RookieWatxh) September 11, 2026

"We talked about this before game one, that when you see people play a lot, what that means is we trust them, because typically coaches don't play people they don't trust," Dawson said about his trust in receivers and players. "And so with the number of people we have going into games, and really the first half too, if you look at it, there's like six or seven receivers rolling in the game. Now in the second half, everybody played, but ultimately through the course of the first half, we were rolling a good bit of people too.

"Daylyn [Upshaw] and Joshua [Moore] rolling one-to-one. Dre [Jacobs] is rolling in there. [Somourian] Wingo is getting in there. So there's a lot of people that we trust to be in the game, and I think part of that is we've recruited at a high level, and there's competition at those positions, and we want to keep that competition going. "

Furthermore, Dawson has to keep an eye on Toney. He is a machine and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down just yet. However, Dawson still wants to spread the wealth to his players, keeping them clean and fresh when Miami needs them.

"I want to be fresh towards the end of the season and the end of the game," Dawson said. "So I do want to roll as many receivers as we can roll. It's the same way with the running back position. I want to have it to where a group of guys are running the ball well. That way, you know, God forbid something happens, you have people with experience, but ultimately you are very, you know, your health and your energy at the end of the game is high."

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