Welcome back, Cormani McClain. (Photo via Cormani McClain)
As reported by On3, one of the wildest stories in recent memory is set to come full circle.
On October 27, 2022, five-star Lakeland, FL cornerback Cormani McClain was set to announce his college decision. Many assumed he would pick Florida due to a combination of factors. Among these: Lakeland’s rich history of sending its football players to Gainesville and the fact that former Gator All-American Ahmad Black coached him at Lakeland High School.
Then, in one of the all-time recruiting shockers, he turned the Gators down.
Instead, the Lakeland Dreadnaught chose to play for Miami in the wake of what was assumed to be a hefty NIL offer from Canes super-booster John Ruiz. But he never made it to Coral Gables, either. A wild circus of a recruitment process followed, featuring McClain stating at the All-American game on January 3, 2023, that he would be signing on January 15 with Miami, but then visiting Colorado on January 13th and then signing with the Buffaloes on January 19th.
And the wild ride for Cormani McClain was just getting started. A difficult year ensued in Boulder, CO under head coach Deion Sanders, lowlighted by Sanders outright calling out McClain’s lack of work ethic and preparation. Predictably, the results were horrendous: Pro Football Focus graded 488 defensive backs to play 200 snaps, and McClain ranked 475th among those 488 defensive backs. So at the end of the year, McClain hit the transfer portal.
The exit from the Colorado program was a messy one, too. Just last month, Cormani McClain took a less-than-subtle shot at his former coach and former program by saying that he didn’t want to play for clicks. This statement, of course, objectively looks crazy when it comes in a video that’s released on the player’s YouTube channel. YouTube videos are, pretty much by definition, produced for clicks.
But to be fair to Cormani McClain, it’s important to remember that he is still a teenager, and we all mature at different paces. And it’s very difficult to predict how any one of us would handle having so much success come at such a young age and not have a team of PR and academic professionals around to help manage it all. If any of us were flashed with the promise of millions of dollars while still in high school, it’s perfectly plausible to think that we might not be responsible with it.
And oh, yeah: he’s indeed extremely talented. It’s not like Cormani McClain forgot how to use his physical gifts. The pure length, size, ball skills, and speed that made him such a coveted prospect are still there. Florida is adding all that, presumably as a preferred walk-on because all 85 scholarship spots are taken. (NIL money could step in and effectively replace the scholarship money.)
And while it would be irresponsible to act like there’s no risk involved with taking a chance on him– even as a walk-on– that risk is very, very minimal. The worst thing that can possibly happen is that Cormani McClain doesn’t learn anything and poisons the locker room with a bad attitude, in which case you detect it quickly and cut bait. But I personally believe that’s highly unlikely, because McClain knows that his stock has taken a massive hit with the past year– I mean, he has to know that– and I think it’s far more likely that Florida gets a new version of him.
If that hunch is correct, then the Gators will be giving an extremely talented player a second chance who will have worked for it. And even if McClain doesn’t produce on the field– say he doesn’t pick up the scheme quickly enough or gets banged up or something– to grant a teenager who has fallen pretty hard in such a short time a second chance would be a great thing. Not only could it help Cormani McClain straighten things out, which is reason enough to do it, but it would also send the ultimate message to recruits and their families how much Billy Napier cares about his players.
As far as his role? Well, Florida has a plethora of young corners looking to step into larger roles, such as Ja’Keem Jackson and Sharif Denson, and Florida also imported some help back there via the transfer portal. So the Gators are, at the very least, adding depth. And who knows? Maybe they’ve just added a starter who doesn’t even cost them a scholarship.
And so, Cormani: the past is the past. Here’s hoping you’ve learned lessons and are a better, more mature young adult because of that past. And if you prove that to be the case, you’ll have a difficult time finding someone who roots harder for you than me.
In any case: welcome home, and best of luck.
