Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes made another big showing Thursday night.
For the second year in a row, the nation’s top rated cornerback recruit has opted to play for Sanders as five-star Cormani McClain made his verbal commitment to the Buffaloes.
McClain, listed at 6-foot-2, 165 pounds, played as a senior at Lakeland (Fla.) High School. He was expected to sign a national letter of intent with the Miami Hurricanes when the early signing period began Dec. 21, but he delayed his decision.
McClain visited CU last weekend and switched from the Hurricanes to the Buffaloes via social media Thursday night. Now he’s getting a chance to play for Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer considered by many to be the best cornerback in NFL history. The next signing period begins on February 1st.
“I play DB, so Coach Prime, he’s the best DB. I just want to be in the same shoes,” McClain said of his decision in a video posted by 247Sports.com. “Be coached by the best DB? Why not?”
A year ago, while Sanders was Jackson State head coach, he flipped the top-rated cornerback — and the No. 1 player overall — in the 2022 class, Florida State’s Travis Hunter. Last month, Hunter announced he was transferring from Jackson State, following Sanders to CU. Ranked as the No. 1 transfer in this year’s league, Hunter is one of several players already on the CU campus.
Now Hunter and McClain are teaming up and giving the Buffaloes mesmerizing star power at cornerback.
McClain is ranked the No. 1 cornerback and No. 12 overall in the country by 247Sports.com. Rivals.com ranks McClain as a top corner and the No. 3 overall player in class.
According to the 247Sports.com database, as of 2000, McClain is CU’s third-highest rated prep recruit in the last 23 years, with a rating better than McClain’s .9950. (Hunter graduated from high school a year ago and had a score of .9999).
McClain would be just CU’s fourth five-star contract in the last 23 years and first since Scott.
McClain has 26 scholarship offers including from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
He played his sophomore and junior seasons at Lake Gibson (Fla.) High School and recorded nine interceptions as a sophomore and six as a junior, according to MaxPreps.com. He also played receiver and caught 54 passes for 915 yards and 11 touchdowns over those two seasons. As a senior, McClain focused on defense and had two interceptions.
With the addition of McClain, CU’s overall 2023 recruit class (including assist and transfer players) has jumped to No. 19 in the 247Sports rankings.
CU has not had a top 20 class since finishing 15th in 2008 by 247Sports. The highest-rated class of buffs since came in 2017 when they landed at #35.