Every great athlete has a story, and every great story starts with a mother's love. For Malachi Toney, the University of Miami's rising star receiver, that story is just beginning—and his mom, Toni, is right there writing it with him.

Toni Toney knows her role well. It's the same one mothers everywhere have played for generations: the one with all the right answers. "Mom, why can't I stay up later?" "Mom, can I watch this show?" "Mom, where should I go to school?" For her five children, the questions were familiar. But with Malachi—her fourth child and second boy, whom she lovingly calls "the baby boy"—the questions took on a different weight. "That's what I call him," she says with a smile. "My baby."

This Mother's Day, we're reminded just how powerful a mom's influence can be on the biggest names in sports. Tennis legend Chris Evert, who won everything the sport had to offer, didn't hesitate when asked about her greatest accomplishment: "Being a mother." Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo was lifted from the rough streets of New Jersey by his mother, Marilyn Blount, who moved them to the backwoods of North Carolina for a better life. Coco Gauff's mom, Candi, oversaw her daughter's homeschooling to fuel her tennis dreams. Heat legend Dwyane Wade credits his energy to his mother, Jolinda, a preacher. And Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson realized the fire had gone out when he stood over his mother's coffin and knew he wanted more time with family.

Here's what makes Malachi's story different: most of those names are finished products. Adults. Stars at the peak of their careers. Malachi Toney is just 18 years old. He might be one of the biggest names in college football right now, but he's still just a college sophomore—a kid with the world at his feet and his mom's voice still fresh in his ears.

And yet, there he was the other day, leading a clinic for a few hundred young athletes at the same Washington Park where he played just a few years ago. An 18-year-old giving back? Advising a group of hopeful players with the kind of wisdom you'd expect from a seasoned veteran: "It's all about the work."

Someone taught him right. Or rather, someone is still teaching him—present tense, because even as college football's biggest freshman name, Malachi is still learning. Toni, who raised him as a single mom, knew her son was special from the moment he stepped onto a football field at age 7. Everyone did. She didn't even want him playing at first—he was so small—but his local youth team needed a quarterback. And from that first snap, a star was born.

For Malachi Toney and his mom, the good story isn't just beginning. It's already being written, one play, one lesson, one Mother's Day at a time.