Florida Gators cornerback Cormani McClain is turning the tides for the Gators in his second offseason at UF. After a controversial season at Colorado, the standout CB made a move to Florida, leaving Billy Napier under a pressing challenge to use his phenomenal talent in the right manner. Tyler Miles, UF’s director of strength and conditioning, seems already impressed by McClain’s homework after the latter failed to get game time during the 2024 season. Thanks to his 20 pounds of extra body mass and the off-the-board behavior and communication in the locker room. But there is a more noble reason to be in absolute awe of him.
There is a common myth in the football community that denotes the skinniest as the fastest by default. But Cormani McClain is the living proof that it’s not always the case. Despite putting on some extra muscle this offseason, the former Colorado product ran 23 miles per hour. He is clearly living up to his high school bill and carving out his path to be one of the most elite corners in the mix. Yes, now, it is too early to make any sure-shot assumptions. But potentially he is forcing us to think the unthinkable. Well, when we say it, it is not only confined to the boundary of a gridiron.
The yet-to-be veteran in the Florida defensive room is making a holistic attempt to contribute to the overall prosperity of the sport and the youth. The Made for More initiative offers him a perfect platform to channel his good thoughts and visions. For those unversed, the name stands for a faith-based non-profit organization in Gainesville, Florida, primarily built to help student-athletes get better education, culture, life skills, social-emotional maturity, community engagement, academic excellence, and many more.
6’1, 182-pound cornerback is not only honing his skills as a leader but also guiding the kids to follow suit, hosting an informative and insightful Q&A session with them. In his latest Instagram update, the prodigy posted a picture with the kids of the NGO and wrote, ”Feeling grateful to be a part of such an insightful Q&A with the students of the Made for More program. Their drive to become leaders is impressive.”
The program has served over 213 student-athletes since 2021 in the state of Florida, with each one of them carrying a distinctive life’s odyssey. You can go to their website and make a contribution to the brighter part of society, just as Cormani McClain did.
The Florida cornerback’s indomitable urge to do beyond the scoreboard task is speaking loudly of what a gem Napier has landed for his program. But many of his gifts unveiling will depend on how both parties decide to deal with their past feuds to prioritize the present.
Cormani McClain seemed to have hit a rough patch with coach Billy Napier
During the initial days in the Florida locker room, Cormani McClain had to take some bumps as he reportedly displeased the head coach with his lackluster work ethic. Reports started to swirl that the five-star cornerback reached the meetings and workout sessions late, showing indifference in crucial team discussions, potentially leading to some disciplinary actions against him. The rumor got enough fuel, given his disputable history with the Buffs. But when Napier was asked about it, he outright denied it.
The Gators’ head coach reaffirmed that things are fine between him and Cormani. While the legitimacy of these claims is still up in the air, seemingly, there were some sort of disagreements between them, even if it was never as juicy as it was served by the media. Napier was probably keeping a tab on him since his history didn’t bode well.
But after that standout Kentucky performance on October 19, where McClain turned heads, returning an interception for a touchdown, Napier didn’t hesitate to offer praise. While acknowledging his unforeseen performance, Napier also pointed out it’s not the correct time to put all the load of expectation on a rookie like him. ”He has the ability to do some really good things in the passing game for us as well,” Napier said. “I think what really stood out was having that kind of versatility in the run game and the passing game.”
However, with a broader-than-the-horizon mentality like this, the sky is the only limit for Cormani McClain.
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