Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes made one other massive splash on Thursday night time.
For the second yr in a row, the top-rated cornerback recruit within the nation has determined to play for Sanders, as five-star Cormani McClain introduced his verbal dedication to the Buffaloes.
McClain, listed at 6-foot-2, 165 kilos, starred at Lakeland (Fla.) Excessive College as a senior. He had been anticipated to signal a nationwide letter of intent with the Miami Hurricanes when the early signing interval started on Dec. 21, however he delayed his determination.
McClain visited CU this previous weekend and, through social media on Thursday night time, he flipped from the Hurricanes to the Buffaloes. Now, he’ll get an opportunity to play for Sanders, a Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer who is taken into account by many as the very best cornerback in NFL historical past. The following signing interval begins Feb. 1.
“I play DB, so Coach Prime, he’s the very best DB. I simply need to be in the identical sneakers,” McClain mentioned about his determination on a video posted by 247Sports.com. “Get coached by the very best DB? Why not?”
A yr in the past, when Sanders was the top coach at Jackson State, he flipped the top-rated cornerback — and the No. 1 participant total — within the 2022 class, Travis Hunter, from Florida State. Final month, Hunter introduced that he’s transferring from Jackson State and following Sanders to CU. Rated the No. 1 switch on this yr’s class, Hunter is amongst a number of gamers already on the CU campus.
Now, Hunter and McClain are teaming up, giving the Buffaloes some intriguing star energy at cornerback.
McClain is rated the No. 1 cornerback and the No. 12 total prospect within the nation by 247Sports.com. Rivals.com charges McClain as the highest nook and the No. 3 total participant within the class.
In response to the 247Sports.com database, McClain is the third-highest rated prep recruit by CU since 2000. Operating backs Darrell Scott (2008, .9980) and Marcus Houston (2000, .9980) are the one gamers signed by CU within the final 23 years with a greater score than McClain’s .9950. (Popping out of highschool a yr in the past, Hunter had a .9999 score).
McClain can be simply the fourth five-star signed by CU within the final 23 years and the primary since Scott.
McClain has 26 scholarship presents, together with from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
He performed his sophomore and junior seasons at Lake Gibson (Fla.) Excessive College, recording 9 interceptions as a sophomore and 6 as a junior, based on MaxPreps.com. He additionally performed receiver, catching a mixed 54 passes for 915 yards and 11 touchdowns in these two seasons. As a senior, McClain targeted on protection and had two interceptions.
With the addition of McClain, CU’s total 2023 recruiting class (together with prep and switch gamers) has jumped to No. 19 within the 247Sports rankings.
CU has not had a top-20 class since rating fifteenth in 2008 by 247Sports. The Buffs’ highest-rated class since then got here in 2017 after they completed at No. 35.