Before any of the football, the person comes first. Nobody on this roster works harder, complains less or deserves to be on that field more than Mali. He wants to be out there with his brothers. That's the part that stings most.
Now the football. Toney is having surgery today on a high ankle sprain. This is tightrope surgery, the same kind of procedure Tua and Brock Bowers had. You don't do this surgery to end a season, you do it to get a guy back on the field faster. The plan is the regular season without him and the playoff with him.
The full expectation is that we see the real Malachi Toney in December. Knowing how he works, he'll rehab better than anyone ever has.
It was a straight football play: a catch in a drill, and someone rolled up on an ankle. Nothing dirty and nothing weird about it. That kid feels worse than anybody. Grown men going after a college freshman online need to take a hard look at themselves.
Same goes for "why was he even practicing."
Steve Kim made the point that we don't know what Toney's week looked like. For all we know, 80 percent of his reps were already cut.
This wasn't an Oklahoma drill. It's November before Notre Dame, and nobody on this staff is running him like it's spring ball. And if Shannon Dawson has seven new things for Mali this week, he has to run them on the practice field. You can't install a package on a whiteboard. Players will tell you they need some practice just to keep the edge sharp.
Steve described the other part best. He told a story about Nate Newton and the '90s Cowboys. Newton said Michael Irvin's value wasn't the numbers. It was the aura. In big games, when everyone was sweating and nervous, Newton would look over at Irvin and think, we're good.
That's what Mali is for us. You can't replace that with a depth chart.
Cooper Barkate goes back to his old job. When Mensah got in trouble this year, he looked for Mali. Last year at Duke, he looked for Barkate. That safety-valve role shifts right back. Barkate had a drop against UNC, then snatched a seed on a third-down slant and went over the top right before halftime. He hasn't forgotten how to play. For the next month, he's WR1.
Daylyn Upshaw moves to the slot. He's comfortable there, he's good on screens, and he has more length than Mali for slot fades. You know Mali is in his ear since those two are inseparable.
Dre Jacobs gets his shot. He was South Carolina's leading receiver and has been a good soldier through a smaller role. He might be the one guy who can take people over the top on the perimeter. Notre Dame's corners are good, but they can be had.
Vance Spafford is in the mix too. Spafford has played real snaps, including a key third-quarter first down in the tied FSU game when Mali went out for a few plays.
And then there's the run game.
Mark Fletcher Jr. brings the other kind of aura, the Alonzo Highsmith and Jerome Brown kind: we're going to run over your best linebacker, and you know it's coming. With Javian Mallory behind him, we're still tougher than you.
Will the offense look different? Of course. That doesn't mean it falls off the face of the earth.
Their best defensive tackle, Francis Brewu, and their most experienced one, Jason Onye, are questionable, and nobody expects them to play. Drayk Bowen, their captain and green-dot middle linebacker, is out. DJ McKinney, their No. 2 corner, is out. Brauntae Johnson, maybe the most talented guy on that defense after Leonard Moore, is out.
They're still well coached.
CJ Carr is the real deal and the least-sacked quarterback in the country. Their backs, Nolan James Jr., Jonaz Walton and Aneyas Williams, are good. Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse can play, and Jerome Bettis Jr. just scored his first touchdown.
How quickly we forget we beat Wake by 13 on the road with Mali limited to a decoy in the second half.
If you think this is a championship team, it can win these games without him. That's what championship teams do, everybody chips in.
And the best-case scenario is real. If guys step up, we prove we can win without our best player, and then we get him back for the games where you win or go home.
Last I checked, everything we own says Miami Hurricanes. Not the Miami Malachi Toneys. Load the wagon.
Steve and I went much deeper on all of this on the full show. Subscribe and turn on notifications for Notre Dame weekend.
Now the football. Toney is having surgery today on a high ankle sprain. This is tightrope surgery, the same kind of procedure Tua and Brock Bowers had. You don't do this surgery to end a season, you do it to get a guy back on the field faster. The plan is the regular season without him and the playoff with him.
The full expectation is that we see the real Malachi Toney in December. Knowing how he works, he'll rehab better than anyone ever has.
Aim the anger somewhere else
Some of you have pointed your frustration at the young DB who was on the play. Stop.It was a straight football play: a catch in a drill, and someone rolled up on an ankle. Nothing dirty and nothing weird about it. That kid feels worse than anybody. Grown men going after a college freshman online need to take a hard look at themselves.
Same goes for "why was he even practicing."
Steve Kim made the point that we don't know what Toney's week looked like. For all we know, 80 percent of his reps were already cut.
This wasn't an Oklahoma drill. It's November before Notre Dame, and nobody on this staff is running him like it's spring ball. And if Shannon Dawson has seven new things for Mali this week, he has to run them on the practice field. You can't install a package on a whiteboard. Players will tell you they need some practice just to keep the edge sharp.
What we're actually losing
Toney is the best football player in America, and his game plan has been the centerpiece of every Saturday. He's the one guy on our roster who can beat man coverage on any snap. He's beaten brackets. Even when he doesn't touch the ball, he moves defenses.Steve described the other part best. He told a story about Nate Newton and the '90s Cowboys. Newton said Michael Irvin's value wasn't the numbers. It was the aura. In big games, when everyone was sweating and nervous, Newton would look over at Irvin and think, we're good.
That's what Mali is for us. You can't replace that with a depth chart.
Who steps up
Darian Mensah is the show now. The quarterback is the most impactful player on any team, and ours threw for 3,900 yards and won an ACC title without Malachi Toney last year.Cooper Barkate goes back to his old job. When Mensah got in trouble this year, he looked for Mali. Last year at Duke, he looked for Barkate. That safety-valve role shifts right back. Barkate had a drop against UNC, then snatched a seed on a third-down slant and went over the top right before halftime. He hasn't forgotten how to play. For the next month, he's WR1.
Daylyn Upshaw moves to the slot. He's comfortable there, he's good on screens, and he has more length than Mali for slot fades. You know Mali is in his ear since those two are inseparable.
Dre Jacobs gets his shot. He was South Carolina's leading receiver and has been a good soldier through a smaller role. He might be the one guy who can take people over the top on the perimeter. Notre Dame's corners are good, but they can be had.
Vance Spafford is in the mix too. Spafford has played real snaps, including a key third-quarter first down in the tied FSU game when Mali went out for a few plays.
And then there's the run game.
Mark Fletcher Jr. brings the other kind of aura, the Alonzo Highsmith and Jerome Brown kind: we're going to run over your best linebacker, and you know it's coming. With Javian Mallory behind him, we're still tougher than you.
Will the offense look different? Of course. That doesn't mean it falls off the face of the earth.
Notre Dame is banged up too
Nobody in South Bend wants to hear about our injury report. They have their own.Their best defensive tackle, Francis Brewu, and their most experienced one, Jason Onye, are questionable, and nobody expects them to play. Drayk Bowen, their captain and green-dot middle linebacker, is out. DJ McKinney, their No. 2 corner, is out. Brauntae Johnson, maybe the most talented guy on that defense after Leonard Moore, is out.
They're still well coached.
CJ Carr is the real deal and the least-sacked quarterback in the country. Their backs, Nolan James Jr., Jonaz Walton and Aneyas Williams, are good. Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse can play, and Jerome Bettis Jr. just scored his first touchdown.
Don't concede anything
People in the chat were already panicking, looking back and saying we couldn't even beat Wake Forest without Toney.How quickly we forget we beat Wake by 13 on the road with Mali limited to a decoy in the second half.
If you think this is a championship team, it can win these games without him. That's what championship teams do, everybody chips in.
And the best-case scenario is real. If guys step up, we prove we can win without our best player, and then we get him back for the games where you win or go home.
Last I checked, everything we own says Miami Hurricanes. Not the Miami Malachi Toneys. Load the wagon.
Steve and I went much deeper on all of this on the full show. Subscribe and turn on notifications for Notre Dame weekend.
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