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Why Miami star Malachi Toney has the eye of Texas Tech football staff
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- Why Miami star Malachi Toney has the eye of Texas Tech football staff
The Texas Tech football team doesn't play the Miami Hurricanes next season, but that hasn't stopped members of the Tech staff from studying the Miami offense since the 2025 season ended.
The objective isn't to learn the Miami offense in general, but to drill down on the Hurricanes' usage of star receiver Malachi Toney in particular. Tech coach Joey McGuire sees his own electric player, J'Koby Williams , as someone the Red Raiders might use in a Toney-like fashion.
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How that might happen remains to be seen. Toney is primarily a slot receiver, Williams mainly a running back, and the Red Raiders aren't planning to change his position.
"No, we're going to keep him where he is," McGuire said last week. "But the kid from Miami, the Toney kid that did play slot and running back — they did so much with him. We've actually looked at everything, how Miami used him, to possibly find different ways to get J'Koby the football other than just playing running back."
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The two are similar in size: Miami lists Toney at 5-foot-11 and 188 pounds, Tech lists Williams at 5-10 and 185. Williams was one of six finalists for the Paul Hornung Award, which goes to the most versatile player in major college football. As a true sophomore this season, he rushed for 868 yards and 6 touchdowns, caught 35 passes for 388 yards and 2 TDs, returned six kickoffs for a 40.3-yard average with a TD, and returned three punts for a 9.0-yard average.
Miami Hurricanes receiver Malachi Toney (10) reacts after getting a first down against the Ole Miss Rebels during their Vrbo Fiesta Bowl matchup at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026.
And that was despite his planned return duties being scaled back because of depth hits at running back and despite his being limited by an ankle injury around midseason.
Toney earned second-team All-America recognition from USA TODAY Sports and The Associated Press. As a true freshman this season, he caught a school record 109 passes for 1,211 yards and 10 touchdowns, rushed 23 times for 113 yards and a TD and returned 23 punts for a 13.0-yard average. He also completed 4 of 7 passes for 82 yards and 2 TDs.
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And that was despite Toney being age-equivalent to a high school senior and playing his first two Hurricanes games last season as a 17-year-old.
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Texas Tech's J'Koby Williams runs after a catch against Oklahoma State in a Big 12 football game Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
So Tech running backs coach Garret McGuire has had eyes on Toney's tape this past month.
"He actually just did a study of the receiver-slash-do it all, the Toney kid from Miami that does a bunch of stuff," Joey McGuire told a Red Raider Club gathering last week in Midland. "We've tried to see a lot of that, of how we could use J'Koby Williams in a lot of different ways."
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The Red Raiders have a loaded backfield. In addition to Williams, there's 1,100-yard rusher Cameron Dickey , who was a Doak Walker Award semifinalist, and Southern California transfer Quinten Joyner , who was actually No. 1 on the depth chart before he suffered a season-ending knee injury in August.
Tech moved three players from defense to offense last year to provide depth at running back. Adam Hill has returned to linebacker, the position he was recruited to play, and Oliver Miles III has returned to safety, the position he was recruited to play. Michael Henderson III is still with the running backs.
Hill rushed 45 times for 240 yards last season, and Miles carried 11 times for 60 yards.
Joyner's not expected to be fully released medically before June 1, Joey McGuire said, so he's unlikely to do much beyond rehab work in spring practice. The Red Raiders start spring drills on March 10 and play their spring game on April 17, a Friday night.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Why Miami star Malachi Toney has the eye of Texas Tech football staff
