Five-star cornerback Cormani McClain pulled a shocker on Thursday when he committed to Miami over Florida and Alabama, as the Gators were considered the heavy frontrunner heading into his decision.
To everyone except the Lakeland, Fla., standout and the Miami coaches, who were informed by McClain earlier in the day that he was coming to play for the Hurricanes.
According to sources, McClain told the Miami coaches early Thursday that they were the winners in his recruitment - as months and months of hard-nosed recruiting against the Gators and the Crimson Tide finally paid off.
“I’ve been in shock all day,” one source said.
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MORE MCCLAIN: Commitment breakdown | CanesCounty.com coverage
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A lot of credit in this recruitment goes to Miami defensive analyst DeMarcus Van Dyke, who worked incredibly hard on McClain, his mother and those close to the five-star corner and sold the vision for what the Hurricanes are trying to rebuild in Coral Gables.
“DeMarcus Van Dyke has been recruiting his *** off from Day 1,” according to a source.
Part of that pitch, according to a source, is that Cristobal and his staff are going to do it the right way as they see it, not the hodgepodge or shoddy way other coaching staffs have attempted to rebuild 'The U' over the last many years.
Miami has only two losing seasons since 2008 but also only one 10-win season as the Hurricanes faithful expect more - and McClain is a big piece to things moving in the right direction.
When Cristobal got to Oregon as part of coach Willie Taggart’s staff, that group took over a team that was 4-8 the previous season in Mark Helfrich's last year. In Cristobal’s first full year after Taggart left for FSU, the Ducks went 9-4 and then 12-2. That success of rebuilding a program could have been influential to McClain.
Cristobal’s team won 10 games in Eugene during his final year before he accepted the Miami job.
It was clearly a compelling case to McClain, who had Alabama on top this spring and Florida “kind of in the middle”. In recent months the Gators moved to the top of his list as he got recruited by coach Billy Napier and position coach Corey Raymond.
According to a third source, the Gators felt like McClain was headed their way. There was definitely confidence across the recruiting industry that Florida was the team to beat heading into his decision.
In the spring, Miami was an also-ran in this recruitment but the Hurricanes - Van Dyke, Jahmile Addae and others - kept plugging away. There is also significant talk behind the scenes of a serious NIL deal although dollar amounts were all over the map when talking to sources as of late Thursday night. One source said they couldn’t believe the numbers being thrown around.
Early playing time could also have played a major factor for McClain, the top-rated cornerback in the 2023 class who has exceptional athleticism, length and ball skills as it looks like he’s gliding around the field. Miami has suffered embarrassing losses to Middle Tennessee State and Duke so far this season (the Canes gave up 45 points in each of those defeats) so it wouldn’t be a shock if McClain has the opportunity to see the field early in South Florida.
Late Thursday, there’s also talk that Miami might not be done with blockbuster players in this class. It still feels like a long shot but the Canes are trying to make a move on five-star receiver Brandon Inniss from Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage as he’s been committed to Ohio State since June. That looks to still be in the early stages but worth watching especially after McClain’s shocker.
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