What is Going On With Cormani McClain?

and should Canes fans be worried?

Welcome to the U Corma…wait, what???

That was Miami fans’ reaction yesterday morning when shortly before the 5 star cornerback’s signing ceremony, his mom posted on social media that his signing ceremony was a “false alarm.”

Sure enough, Cormani was a no show for the ceremony. The news stunned the recruiting world. Even Lakeland coaches and staff were unprepared for his absence.

So now what? Should Canes fans be worried in the ever unpredictable world of college football recruiting?

Let’s tackle the worst case scenario head on. While Florida fans think they have shot, the real threat here is Colorado. There were reports yesterday from 247 Sports that Coach Prime (aka Deion Sanders) is making a last minute push to lure Cormani to Colorado. Steve Wiltfong, Director of Recruiting at 247Sports, reported that Cormani had spoken to Coach Prime yesterday morning prior to his decision to skip the ceremony.

Also ON3’s “crystal ball” tilted this morning towards Cormani flipping to Colorado.

In his short time at Colorado, Deon is pushing HARD for last minute, elite prospects. Sometimes with success, sometimes not. On December 10th, Deon flipped four star RB Dylan Edwards away from Notre Dame. Deon also lured top 100 WR/ATH Adam Hopkins away from his previous commitment to Auburn. On the other hand, Deon fell short of flipping Malachi Coleman, a rare top 100 player out of Nebraska, away from the Huskers and their new head coach Matt Rhule.

By the way, recruiting is a two-way street. Cristobal was pitching for Travis Hunter, who was Coach Prime’s crown jewel player at Jackson St., to come to South Florida. Hunter ultimately confirmed his commitment to Deon Sanders and Colorado, but it seems turnabout is fair play as Deon now pitches for Cormani.

With respect to Cormani, there’s smoke here for sure, but how big is the fire? At yesterday’s press conference, Cristobal (without naming names because he can’t discuss unsigned players) was confident that Miami would sign him. Obviously Lakeland’s coaches thought he was signing with Miami as recently as yesterday morning. And last week at Lakeland’s state championship game, Cormani was giving nothing but love to the Hurricanes.

Cormani himself retweeted a Rivals video of him flashing the U at the game.

There were also credible reports yesterday that Cormani’s delay was due to a video that was supposed to be released with his signing, but wasn’t ready to go live. This theory is plausible considering that he released a custom video concurrently with his pledge to Miami.

Frankly, I can see the alure of Cormani playing for Coach Prime. Like Deon, Cormani is a playmaking defensive back (he started his high school career at WR before injuries turned him into a DB where he blossomed into a generational talent). At the time of his commitment, Cormani was also reportedly excited about the prospect of immediate playtime for the Canes. Colorado will DEFINITELY be able to give him immediate playing time.

But at the end of the day, I think Cormani sticks with the Canes. While this is a bit of a guessing game, most insiders (outside of 247) are predicting he keeps his commitment. Let’s hope they’re right.

Even if Deon lures Cormani away, Cristobal and ace recruiter Demarcus Van Dyke brought in quite a bit of secondary help this recruiting class. Miami secured commitments from three, 4 star players: Robert Stafford, Antione Jackson, and Damari Brown. That’s in addition to Brown’s brother, Davonte, who announced he’s transferring from UCF.