Colorado cornerback Cormani McClain plans to enter transfer portal

Colorado freshman cornerback and former five-star prospect Cormani McClain plans to enter the transfer portal, per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

He can immediately play and has three years of eligibility remaining. The No. 13 overall recruit in the 2023 class, McClain committed to Miami before flipping to the Buffaloes in January 2023. One of Deion Sanders‘ biggest recruiting wins, the No. 1 cornerback played in nine games and started just four as a true freshman this past fall. He tallied 13 total tackles and two pass breakups.

“Study and prepare,” Sanders told reporters in September 2023 when asked what McClain needed to improve on to see more playing time. “Be on time for meetings, show up to meetings. Understand the scheme. I check film time from each player so I can see who’s preparing, so if I don’t see that, you would be a fool to put somebody out there who’s not prepared. That goes for all our players.”

From that point, McClain continued to build and cut out playing time towards the end of the season. He started in Week 6 against Arizona State. Sanders was complementary in November, praising the cornerback for focusing on practice and preparation.

He started the final three games of the season, against Arizona, Washington State and Utah, allowing 18 catches for 380 yards the 25 times he was targeted in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus.

According to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, the cornerback was the third-ranked recruit in the state of Florida in the 2023 class. McClain’s flip to Colorado was the second consecutive recruiting win in the secondary for Sanders, who flipped Travis Hunter from Florida State to Jackson State in the 2022 class.

Outside of Miami and Colorado, Florida and Alabama were considered the other threats in Cormani McClain’s high school recruitment.