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Early reviews out of Gainesville haven’t been positive surrounding transfer Cormani McClain. The defensive back landed at Florida following a move from Colorado this offseason.
That exit was a turbulent one as he beefed with teammates and head coach, Deion Sanders, on his way out the door. Now, it appears he’s become a problem for his new program, too.
McClain entered the portal after an inconsistent freshman season where the five-star defender failed to live up to lofty expectations. His relationship with Coach Prime suffered as a result as he was called out on numerous occasions for a lack of commitment to his craft.
At season’s end, he beefed with Sanders while criticizing the Colorado program as a whole.
McClain later landed at Florida, taking a walk-on spot in hopes of restoring his image. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to be off to a great start.
Cormani McClain is infuriating his new Florida teammates.
He’s reportedly made a habit of showing up late for offseason workouts. That’s resulted in not only personal punishment, but also team-wide discipline.
More from Nick De La Torre of On3 Sports:
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.
You’re not going to be liked in the locker room if your tardiness/immaturity is causing the rest of your team to have to run.
Goes to what I said about him when Florida took the flier on him. Just immature. Needs to grow up.
That’s not the best way to win over new teammates or earn playing time.
McClain’s talent has never been the issue. He was the top-rated defensive back in his 2023 class. He cracked the starting lineup in his rookie season, and performed well, at times.
The off-field concerns, though, continue to rear their ugly head.