And the Cormani McClain saga continues. At this point, it should be a running gag for McClain. Everything started before the 2024 season hit. Multiple accounts reported that McClain was removed from the Gators’ roster because of behavior issues. While Gators HC Billy Napier did clear the air regarding this, Gators fans are yet to see McClain even hit the turf in the 2024 season. What is holding him back? Could this be the end of McClain’s run with the Gators? Could he be missing his time with the Buffs?

Well, looks like it. McClain took to X on September 29 to share a snap of him on his Instagram story, sitting and watching the Buffs vs Knights game which the former eventually won 48-21. Interestingly, Back on September 23, McClain took to his Instagram to share a picture of him wearing a No.1 marked black and goal t-shirt. The only team he had the No.1 card at was the Buffs.

Boy, oh boy, we feel bad for this guy. He was the top-rated defensive back in his 2023 class having 58 tackles (3 for loss), 15 interceptions, 17 PDUs, and three forced fumbles over two years at Lakeland High School. But the same shine did not come through during his time in Colorado.

Cormani started his college career with coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes in 2023. He only played in 9 games for the Buffs last year, starting in just 4 of them, with a modest 13 tackles. “I feel like I just don’t want to play for clicks. I actually want to be involved with a great-leading program that’s going to develop players,” McClain, evidently disappointed, had said. With an aim to turn the picture around, he has come back to his home state to join the Gators. But as it stands, the story is not much different here as well.

At this point, we know Napier benched McClain for being “too small”. This is a weird reason. Also, keep in mind that we had spotted McClain warming up before the Miami game. So what happened? Could Cormani’s conduct have been an issue? We can not deny it. Nick De La Torre of On3 Sports had spilled out some information last month.

“I was told that Cormani McClain has been late to most of the requirements (meetings, lift, etc…). The way that it’s handled is sort of like a strike system. Essentially, you get a warning, they you have to do extra run/lift… which he’s started to show up late for as well. They started to make the defense and then the rest of the team do these extra lifts thinking that would get Cormani to show up on time and it hasn’t,” Torre had said. In fact, this is something that Cormani has been carrying since his time with the Buffs.

Cormani has been a highly-touted freshman prospect. But his initial days at Colorado have been bumpy. He did not make his debut until Week 4 in a game that was a blowout loss at Oregon. It was in week 6 that McClain earned his first start when the Buffaloes went for a fourth-quarter comeback win at Arizona State.

McClain’s playing time increased significantly during the final three games of the regular season with 169 total snaps as a starter. For context, he played just 108 snaps in the first nine games of the 2023 campaign. Despite all that, Deion Sanders thought Cormani himself was the reason why he had not been very frequent in the field.

In a press conference in 2023, when Deion Sanders was asked about Cormani, his reply evidently revealed his disgust. “Study, prepare, be on time for meetings, show up to the dern meetings. Understand what we’re doing as a scheme. Want to play this game… Desire to play this game. Desire to be the best in this game– at practice, in the film room and in your own free time,” Coach Prime had said. That was once again visible when he was leaving the Buffs.

“I pray to God that he goes to a program that challenges him, as well as holds him accountable and develops him as a young man. Unfortunately, we weren’t the program that could accomplish that,” Sanders had said when Cormani entered the transfer portal in April as No. 22 overall in the 2024 portal cycle.

Whether Deion would take back McClain or not is still a big question, and we gotta wait for those answers. However, what is clear is the fact that McClain wants to be on the team. And we aren’t surprised that he does because the Buffs are doing something solid this year.

Deion Sanders and his boys against all odds

The UCF Knights were 3-0 heading into this game. So pressure was there on the Buffs. But in the end, they pulled off an almost complete game. While they entered the game as 14-point underdogs, the Buffaloes were relentless through the entire game, cutting through UCF’s potent offense and making big plays on both sides of the ball.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was evidently leading the charge, as he threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns, controlling the game and playing with the UCF defense. His connection with wide receiver Travis Hunter was once again reiterated as Hunter continued his already amazing season with nine receptions for 89 yards.

Among those was a 23-yard touchdown when broke free and secured a 7-0 lead for the Buffs with 3:49 remaining in the first quarter (Hunter’s sixth touchdown of the season). Hunter made his presence felt on defense, where he managed a crucial interception and struck a Heisman pose.

On their next possession, Shedeur, showing his deep ball accuracy, hit wide receiver Will Sheppard with a 47-yard touchdown pass. The perfectly timed throw allowed Sheppard to break free, giving Colorado a 14-7 lead with just 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter. It was a kind of redemption for him after his dropped pass against Baylor last week, which could have tied the game. The first quarter ended with 256 total yards of offense, setting the stage for an action-packed game. And what has been more impressive is the Buffs defense.

UCF’s running game, which had been the strongest in the entire CFB, was limited to just 177 yards. KJ Jefferson, who was expected to lead the Knights with his dual-threat, could not get past Colorado’s wall. The defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage, sacking Jefferson five times and forcing him into uncomfortable situations throughout. The defensive highlight came when Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig scooped up a UCF fumble and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown.

If these were not enough, the Buffs’ special teams units probably had their best show in recent times against UCF. Punter Mark Vassett pinned UCF inside its own 20-yard line. The best special teams sequence happened near the end of the first half. After Alejandro Mata managed a 39-yard field goal, CU’s defense held UCF to a three-and-out followed by a 27-yard punt return from Jimmy Horn Jr.

Considering all these, safe to say that it would be one of the biggest wins Deion could get this year. This is what the Buffs fans have always wanted to see and we are glad Coach Prime and his boys have finally picked up the pace.