Malachi Toney will not play in Saturday's game against Notre Dame. The Miami wide receiver suffered an ankle injury in practice on Wednesday and had surgery. He is expected to return later this season, but he will miss this key matchup. This changes everything for the top-ranked team as they head to South Bend.
The Hurricanes still hold the No. 1 spot in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. They earned that spot with a potent offense led by Mensah and wide receiver Malachi Toney. Now, Mensah must find another way to win without his best friend on the field. The pressure shifts entirely to Mensah to carry the load.
A Bond Broken by Injury
Toney and Mensah have grown very close in just a few months. Toney and Mensah are more than teammates; they are friends who see each other off the field. Toney told reporters this week about a moment they shared right after Mensah committed to the school.
"We were just in the locker room just talking about how I saw him at [Prime 112 Restaurant] right after he committed. Just him getting adapted to Miami, we've grown so close," Toney said, according to Yahoo Sports.
That connection was a major part of their success this season. Toney rank...