Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman knows Malachi Toney is on Miami's injury list. Yet Freeman finds himself still believing Toney will suit up.
Freeman explained the reasoning via Pete Sampson of The Athletic Thursday.
“We’ll see if he plays or not. We have to make sure we have a plan if he plays. If he doesn’t, we’ll adjust,” Freeman said.
Toney reportedly underwent tightrope surgery, which is common for players dealing with a sprain. Those type of injuries need up to four weeks at the least to heal. Miami rolled out a vision involving holding off Toney until the College Football Playoffs to play.
Still, Freeman believes that Miami is more than the star wideout.
“They’ve got a long list of guys that they can put on the field to be the 11th player. It’s not always the position as much as it is the player. There’s players all over,” Freeman added to reporters. “There’s great running backs, there’s good tight ends, there’s good young wide receivers who can step up. Whatever it is their plan will be on Saturday, we have to be ready to adjust.”
Article Continues BelowFreeman will need to get his defense to prepare for another Miami star too in quarterback Darian Mensah. He's bringing 25 touchdowns in tow with only one interception. And Mensah's next best target in the absence of Toney is Cooper Barkate, who was Mensah's top wideout at Duke last season.
Notre Dame is predicted to topple the top-ranked Hurricanes per ClutchPoints, with Toney's situation helping provide an impact.