The last two college football seasons, a true freshman wide receiver took the sport by storm.
In 2024, it was Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. He had 76 catches, 1,315 yards and 15 scores, while helping lead the Buckeyes to a national championship win.
His performance had many wondering if he could be the best receiver the Buckeyes have ever had, which is saying something given their lineage of receivers like Cris Carter, Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson and Emeka Egbuka.
In 2025, it was a different wide receiver who stole the show. That would be Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney. He had 109 catches, for 1,211 yards and 10 scores, while leading the Hurricanes to the national championship game.
On “See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack,” the college football analyst said that he thinks Toney might be a more impactful receiver than Smith.
“The separation between Malachi Toney and Jeremiah Smith is not that great,” Pollack said. “It really isn’t. I know they’re built differently, but impact on a game, it’s crazy how close those two are. All of the things that Malachi Tony does for you, I would argue, is more impactful than Jeremiah Smith.”
Pollack’s reasoning was because of how Toney is used compared to how Smith is used. Smith is used much more like a traditional wide receiver. Toney, on the other hand, is a guy you just get the ball to, however you can. Sometimes that’s on sweeps, sometimes that’s on screens, and sometimes that’s on usual routes.
The reality is, it’s hard to compare the two because they are so different. It would be like comparing someone like Justin Jefferson to someone like Deebo Samuel when he was used as a Swiss Army knife with the San Francisco 49ers.
Both are very effective players, but they do so in a completely different way. But to Pollack’s point, he’s not arguing who is the better receiver; he’s arguing impact. That’s a key distinction. Because while they are so different, both can dominate and take over a game.
Both are key reasons as to why many think either team can win a national championship in 2026. Honestly, it’s hard to argue with Pollack. Because of the ways Miami can use Toney, he might be the more impactful player. When you have to game plan for Toney in so many different positions, it makes things more difficult for a defense.
That’s not to say it’s easy to game plan for Smith, because it is. It just means it’s different and arguably a tougher challenge.
Add us as a preferred source on Google