Colorado cornerback Cormani McClain plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal after one season with the Buffaloes, he announced Tuesday.
McClain, a former five-star and the No. 1 corner recruit in the class of 2023, was the highest-rated signee in coach Deion Sanders’ first recruiting class at Colorado after Sanders toppled Lakeland, Fla., which stands out from a commitment to Miami.
The 6-foot-2, 165-pound cornerback got off to a slow start during his freshman season and didn’t play a single play on defense in the Buffaloes’ first three games. Sanders told reporters that McClain had to “study, prepare, be on time to meetings, show up to the damn meetings, figure out what the plan is” before he could be given more playing time.
BREAKING: Colorado CB Cormani McClain plans to enter transfer portal, he says @on3sports
The 6’3 173 CB from Lakeland, FL was ranked #1 CB in the ’23 class (by On3) 👀
He will have 4 years of eligibility remaining. pic.twitter.com/Saq4s7IByA
-Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 16, 2024
McClain was a game changer from there and got four starts, recording 13 tackles and two assists while teaming up with All-Pac-12 cornerback Travis Hunter. Sanders praised his focus and progress in November.
“We challenged him tremendously throughout the year. …I’m really, really proud of Cormani. I really am,” Sanders said.
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McClain has three seasons of eligibility remaining and will become one of the most coveted players in college football’s spring transfer window, a 14-day period for underclassmen transfers that began Tuesday.
Seven Colorado scholarship players had already entered the portal Tuesday before McClain’s announcement: receivers Tar’Varish Dawson and Jacob Page, offensive linemen Savion Washington, David Conner and Isaiah Jatta, defensive lineman Chazz Wallace and safety Myles Slusher.
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(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)