David Pollack Reveals His Pick in Malachi Toney vs. Jeremiah Smith Debate

College football debate season is here, and one of the biggest ongoing conversatoins concerns the nation's top wide receiver. Heading into the 2026 season, it was often a foregone conclusion that Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith was not only the top receiver in the country, but arguably the top player overall. But alreayd in the young season, Miami's Malachi Toney has asserted himself as a potential national WR1. College football analyst David Pollack made his opinion known and didn't hold anything back.

Pollack's WR1 pick

Did Malachi Toney Prove He’s the Best Receiver in CFB?@BrentRollinsPhD @CanesFootball pic.twitter.com/QW7SehFZPU
— David Pollack (@davidpollack47) September 7, 2026

"I would rather have Malachi Toney than Jeremiah Smith," said Pollack. "That wasn't a knock on Jeremiah Smith, it was how great Malachi Toney is-- at everything. But now he's going to have a QB that can match what he can do. You watch him run routes and his ability to shift gears and use his body and use his angles and pace-- slow the pace down, and then speed it back up, and then he's so good with the ball in his hands afterward. Playing at a different speed that everybody else."

The case for Toney

Toney had a massive freshman campaign at Miami in 2025, catching 109 passes for 1,211 yards and 10 touchdowns. But with Miami moving on from Carson Beck at quarterback to Duke transfer Darian Mensah, Toney has started the 2026 season at an even more elite level.

In the season-opening 45-6 win ovetr Stanford, Toney caught 12 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Mensah had a near-perfect Miami debut (27 for 30 for 401 yards and 5 TDs) with most of the damage coming via Toney.

Toney's 234 yards represented a Miami single-game receiving record. For the first game of his sophomore season to outshine legends like Michael Irvin, Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, and Santana Moss, Toney is clearly making his national case to be considered the top receiver in college football.

Smith still strong

Pollack was careful not to devalue the excellent work of Jeremiah Smith.

"Jeremiah Smith and Malachi Toney are just going to be fun to watch them go tick for tack back and forth," said Pollack.

Smith started his season with eight catches for 151 yards and a pair of scores in Ohio State's 56-3 win over Ball State. Smith maintains an impressive combination of physical skills and high level production. His 2025 saeason included 87 receptions for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns. In his third season, Smith is gaining ground on the Ohio State career record book with every game. But he's got strong competition for the WR1 title so far this season.

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