Top Cornerback Recruit Cormani McClain Commits To Colorado

Deion Sanders has unrivaled pull in collegiate football recruiting. After a tumultuous and indecisive recruitment process, top cornerback prospect Cormani McClain flipped his commitment from Miami to the University of Colorado Thursday night.

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McClain, from Lakeland, Florida, is ranked as the top cornerback and ninth overall player in the 2023 high school class. The five-star corner was originally crystal balled to the University of Florida, where he would have been Billy Napier’s top prospect in the upcoming recruiting class. However, a Gators losing streak and a reportedly massive last-second NIL offer would see McClain commit to the University of Miami.

But when it came time to sign his national letter of intent, McClain made himself a stranger. We’ve all seen the infamous Publix cake at Lakeland’s national signing day event, decorated in Miami colors with “Congrats Cormani McClain” iced across the top. The cake waited, but Cormani never came.

McClain ultimately left Miami waiting at the alter, flipping his decision to play for Coach Prime in Boulder.

“In my business, I play (defensive back). Coach Prime is the best (defensive back). I just want to be in the same shoes, same predicament, whole exact everything. Getting coached by the best (defensive back). I’m the best (defensive back). Why not?” said McClain to CBS Sports’s Carl Reed when asked about his decision.

Sanders is no stranger to massive signings. This marks the second year in a row Sanders flipped the top cornerback recruit in the nation following Travis Hunter’s flip from FSU to Jackson State.

Sanders has also signed a high profile recruiting class headlined by 23 transfer students. This includes his own son, four-star quarterback Shedeur Sanders. It’s becoming clear that players want to play for Coach Prime.