Cormani McClain, Lakeland 5-star defensive back, makes it official and signs with Colorado

Colorado's football program announced on Twitter that McClain officially signed with the Buffaloes

For what has been one of the most heavily followed storylines when its come to a high school football player and his recruitment, finally came to an official ending Wednesday afternoon. 

Lakeland defensive back Cormani McClain has officially signed with Colorado, according to the school's official football Twitter account. The 5-star defensive back, rated by 247Sports, was formerly a University of Miami (FL) up until Jan. 19.

On that evening, McClain ended up de-committing from the Hurricanes and flipping over to Colorado. Speculation swirled around the recruiting circles for weeks on whether the Dreadnaughts' defensive back would flip from his commitment to Mario Cristobal's program. 

It's official, @CormaniMcClain2 is a Buff. ✍️#WeComing | #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/57FKOPOAyB

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) February 1, 2023

With Deion Sanders now heading up Colorado heading into 2023, communication ramped up with McClain as the new year rolled around. McClain's intentions were so secretive, not even his own high school knew of his plans to decommit. 

Back on Dec. 21, McClain was supposed to be attendance with fellow teammates to sign with the Hurricanes, but ended up becoming a no show. His mother shared a tweet via Twitter that McClain wouldn’t be signing and apologized for the inconvenience. 

No seat today for the Five-Star Miami Commit. pic.twitter.com/xKCnkjhUlp

— PolkWay (@polk_way) December 21, 2022

McClain reportedly took a secret trip out to Boulder, Colorado to visit and checkout the Buffaloes. It was all Sanders and his staff needed to go ahead and seal the deal with the country’s top defensive back of the 2023 class. He now joins a talented roster that includes Sanders’ son, Shedeur and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, who was the No. 1 recruit of the Class of 2022. 

READ: Deion Sanders flips Cormani McClain, nation’s No. 1 DB, from Miami to Colorado

READ: Lakeland clinches title No. 8 in Class 4S state championship victory over Venice

The cornerback is coming off a season in which he was apart of Lakeland's Class 4S state championship team that defeated Venice 21-14 back in January at DRV PNK Stadium. For the 2022 season, McClain made 15 tackles, defended three passes and picked off two for the Dreadnaughts. 

🦬🔒

— 7 (@CormaniMcClain2) February 1, 2023

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.