Cormani McClain may be a top-ranked player in the transfer portal, but is his image now tainted? His spicy jibes at Deion Sanders played their part in bringing him to the limelight. However, it looks like the issues he faced in Colorado will only snowball further if he isn’t careful.

The Gators’ folks are busy dissecting every possibility of the team hiring McClain. However, the Florida Gators columnist Nick de la Torre is not impressed with the possibilities that would come with the former Buffs player joining Florida. “Corman adds a ton of depth to a room that is, already has good depth. And if you get him to walk on with the potential that he can earn a scholarship … I think it makes a lot of sense on the field. Now off the field is where I would have concerns,” he opined on Gators Online.

“He transferred from Orlando, went to Lakeland High School. At one point was removed as a starter because he wasn’t showing up to class and was missing practices,” Torre stated, explaining how McClain’s ill-disciplined nature would potentially be a nightmare for the Gators.

However, looking back at when the player joined the Buffs, the columnist thought it was a good move. It helped McClain because the athlete would be away from the bad influence he had when he was in high school. He even gave the example of J.C. Jackson, who stayed closer to home and got entangled with the law because of questionable friends. The athlete then got this life together, went to Maryland, and was eventually drafted by the Patriots.

Hence, Torre said, “Getting away from that and going to a new environment can be helpful. When JC Jackson was in Florida, I thought that’s too close to his friends.”

“I thought Cormani going to… or going to Boulder would be good for him, but that he was clearly not a culture fit… Boulder and that program proved to not be what Cormani McClain needed in terms of helping him develop as a player but probably, more importantly, develop as a person,” the analyst opined.

Additionally, he had some strong advice for the 20-year-old when it came to disciplinary issues. “You can’t force somebody to grow up and mature. You can bring them into the right situation. The old saying- you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. You have to make changes for yourself.”

In fact, McClain’s former coach from Lakeland, Keith Barefield, even spoke about the athlete last month. He wasn’t surprised to know more about the player’s undisciplined behavior. If anything, he confirmed that as a coach, it took a lot to get him on the right path. He stated that the young lad was used to getting away with things because he was a good athlete.

Now, the real question boils down to whether Florida will be the environment that helps McClain flourish. The interest appears to be mutual from both ends after all the trips the player has been making to the campus.

Cormani McClain and the Florida Gators: Is the match really made in heaven?

Before making his way to Deion Sanders, McClain heavily considered Florida because it was closer to home. Now that he’s searching for a new home after spending a year at Boulder, it seems that he’s going back to square one- right where he started as a Gator prospect. The only difference this time is that the Gators are going hot on their heels to secure McClain.

Per CBS Sports, McClain was on Florida’s campus on May 10 and would also embark on a midweek official visit to Florida from May 14-16. Coach Billy Napier has already done a lot of work on his roster, reimagining it in a way that made the Gator’s roster rank No.10 overall.

UPDATE: Cornerback Cormani McClain has committed to Florida Gators after one season with the Colorado Buffaloes. His agent shared the news with ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. With this, the player will return to his home state. As per the information available, he chose Floria over names such as LSU, Texas, and Auburn.

He is a former five-star recruit and was ranked as the No. 14 overall player and No. 1 cornerback in the 2023 recruiting class. McClain had entered the transfer portal on April 18. The athlete has four years of eligibility remaining.