Cormani McClain, who had one of the most dramatic recruitments of the 2023 recruiting cycle, is looking for a new home.

McClain was rated 5-stars and the No. 1 cornerback in the 2023 recruiting class coming out of high school. After a season of playing for Deion Sanders at Colorado, McClain has decided to hit the transfer portal.

 

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McClain will be considered a true sophomore in 2024. As a freshman, he played in 9 games, making 4 starts for the Buffaloes. McClain logged 13 total tackles including 6 solo, 1 TFL and 2 pass breakups.

McClain’s path to Colorado had twists and turns

Out of Lakeland (Florida) High, McClain was highly touted and one of the most sought-after prospects in the Class of 2023. On the 247Sports Composite, McClain was rated 5-stars, the No. 1 cornerback, No. 3 player in the state of Florida and No. 13 prospect overall in the Class of 2023.

For McClain’s initial commitment, Alabama, Florida and Miami emerged as the 3 top contenders. Heading into his late October 2022 commitment ceremony, Florida was considered the favorite to land McClain.

Media members, both those who cover Florida and national recruiting, were prepared to declare McClain’s commitment a huge win for Billy Napier’s program. McClain, however, had other plans.

McClain stunned the college football world, particularly Gator Nation, by throwing up the “U” and announcing his commitment to Miami. It looked like Mario Cristobal had won a big-time recruiting battle over an in-state rival.

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The twists and turns were not over. McClain had another trick up his sleeve, flipping to Colorado instead of signing with the Hurricanes.

Could McClain land in the SEC?

McClain’s trolling of Florida to commit to Miami seemingly burned his bridges with Napier and the UF staff. There are other SEC programs, though, that have notable ins with McClain if they choose to recruit him out of the portal.

LSU

Corey Raymond was recruiting McClain to Florida back in 2022. After two seasons, Raymond was let go by Napier and is back at LSU. The big question is what kind of relationship do the player and coach have after McClain trolled the UF staff with his Miami commitment?

During McClain’s recruitment, Raymond made it clear he wanted to coach the talented defensive back. McClain spoke highly of Raymond, recognizing the coach’s history of developing numerous standouts from LSU’s “DBU” days.

Considering how things ended at Florida, Raymond may not be all that sore these days about McClain beginning his college career elsewhere.

Auburn

Coach Prime was in all the headlines for McClain’s decision to sign with Colorado, but Charles Kelly deserves a lot of credit for getting McClain in Boulder.

Kelly was 247Sports’ National Recruiter of the Year for the 2023 cycle after landing McClain. He has not only recruited McClain, but coached him as Colorado’s defensive coordinator in 2023.

Hugh Freeze hired Kelly to Auburn’s staff as co-defensive coordinator in January.

South Carolina

The opportunity to play for Torrian Gray would likely appeal to McClain. Gray, 50, is a fellow Lakeland, Florida native.

Beyond the Lakeland connection, McClain would certainly be impressed by Gray’s resume. A former Virginia Tech standout, Gray played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings before getting into coaching. Gray has NFL and Power 5 coaching experience.

As a coach, Gray has a long list of DBs he has put in the NFL from his time at Virginia Tech, Florida and South Carolina. Brandon Flowers, Kam Chancellor, Marcus Maye, Duke Dawson, C.J. Henderson, Cam Smith and Darius Rush are among the DBs who have been developed by Gray.