Miami Still Chasing Top CB Cormani McClain, With Recruitment Update Coming
The Miami Hurricanes currently possess 17 verbal commitments for the class of 2023. To help finish out the recruiting class, head coach Mario Cristobal and his staff are looking to land truly elite players.
One of those targets would be elite cornerback Cormani McClain, who the Miami staff would love to pair with already committed cornerback Rob Stafford from Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie. McClain has been one of the most sought after cornerbacks in the land since his breakout sophomore campaign in 2020.
Stopping by to see McClain and his Lakeland (Fla.) High School teammates on Monday, the No. 2 overall player and No. 1 corner in the initial SI99 rankings made it clear that he’s not worried about the recruiting process as of right now.
McClain told All Hurricanes that he tentatively plans to announce when his college decision will take place at some point this September. He’s expected to select between Miami, Alabama and Florida, while Georgia and other programs are still going to make their pitches as well.
Instead of focusing on recruiting, McClain is concentrating on playing cornerback and wide receiver for Lakeland — following his offseason transfer from nearby Lake Gibson High School — a team that is expected to make a strong run at a Florida high school football state championship.
Lakeland has a talented roster led by legendary head coach Bill Castle (1976-current), who’s already acquired two USA Today National Championships and seven state titles overall with the Dreadnaughts.
Here’s what All Hurricanes' Zach Goodall stated during his evaluation of McClain for the SI99:
How can’t you name a player that moved to cornerback less than two years ago and already has 19 interceptions under his belt as the No. 1 player at his position?
Cormani McClain is that player, the most natural cornerback in the nation this year despite his relative lack of experience. He’s a legitimate 6-foot-2 with, most likely, the longest arms of any defensive back in the class. He runs a 4.5 flat and his change-of-direction skills are polished due to similarly elite lateral athleticism, and he simply knows how to attack the football, thanks to his time spent at wide receiver since first taking the gridiron — a position he could play at the next level if he chose to.
McClain has some of the cleanest footwork in his class, too. He’ll rarely false step throughout his backpedal and is precise with every mirror step he takes in order to keep receivers in check. This benefits McClain greatly in man-coverage where he operates like a magnet, rarely disconnected from the receiver’s hip from his powerful jam at the line of scrimmage through the conclusion of the pass. He’ll allow receivers past him as instructed in Cover 2 but has perfected the trail technique to speed down the field, catch up with the target and break up passes from behind. He’s also nimble enough to break downhill and undercut short, in-breaking throws from off-man or deep zones.
The biggest, perhaps lone concern with McClain is his build, standing at a wiry 165 pounds despite his absurdly long frame. He’s a willing tackler and his press coverage punch is very strong, but he’ll need to add quite a bit of bulk to take on college, and one day pro, receivers in coverage and running backs in the ground game. If anything else, sometimes McClain’s height gets the best of him against shifty slot receivers on out-breaking routes, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll play nickel outside of high school.
It’s pretty simple: If McClain is capable of bulking up anywhere into the 185-200 pound range without losing his athleticism, he has the potential to become a generational college football cornerback. Every other aspect of playing the position comes naturally to him.
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