If Cormani McClain gets his act together, Florida football might have just struck gold

Pedestrians sauntering around UF’s campus had to be careful Wednesday afternoon. They might have been hit by a flying champagne cork.

Florida football went into party mode over the Cormani McClain news. The greatest cornerback in recruiting drama history was transferring in from Colorado.

“It’s always a lesson when you take a lost, as soon as you it correct it. #Backhome,” McClain wrote.

The announcement was on X, where grammar doesn’t count. Or maybe Colorado doesn’t require freshmen to learn proper punctuation.

One thing we know is McClain didn’t learn how to be a stud cornerback. So for now, fans should keep the champagne on ice and repeat three little words:

Cormani McClain, walk-on.

That’s like saying “Elon Musk, computer repairman.” He’s supposed to be so much more.

Not too long ago, McClain was about the hottest thing on the recruiting market. The string-bean from Lakeland was America’s top-ranked cornerback prospect. A program maker.

His recruitment turned into a drama-drenched reality show. The football version of “The Bachelor.”

For the longest time, it appeared Billy Napier would get the rose. McClain broke a million Gator hearts when he gave it to Mario Cristobal and Miami.

Then he snatched it away and gave it to Deion Sanders. The match made in cornerback heaven quickly turned into a dysfunctional relationship.

Now, just a year after having more scholarship offers than he could count, McClain is reduced to walking on at Florida?

To be fair, that’s something of a technicality. The Gators are at the 85-scholarship limit, and McClain’s NIL package will undoubtedly cover room and board.

But the walk-on designation should also serve as a warning sign. Nobody really knows what Florida is getting in McClain.

If you’ve been monitoring the online reaction out of Colorado, you might think the Gators are getting damaged goods. McClain was in Deion’s doghouse most of last season.

“Study, prepare, be on time for meetings,” Sanders explained. “Want to play this game. Desire to play this game.”

It’s tempting to roll your eyes at whatever comes out of Coach Prime’s mouth. In the Book of Deion, nothing is ever Deion’s fault. But McClain’s high school coach hasn’t exactly rushed to his former prodigy’s defense.

“He’s a kid that grew up and always got away with things because of how good an athlete he was,” Keith Barefield told CBS Sports.

He thought Colorado would be the right place for McClain.

“I knew Deion wouldn’t kiss his butt,” Barefield said.

No doubt, there are two or three or 10 sides to the Cormani drama in Boulder. But McClain left town with his reputation in the diva dumpster.

A lot of people don’t think he’s worth the trouble. Napier has spent two years fumigating UF’s locker room of bad actors.

Now he’s bringing in a 5-star malcontent?

Florida believes McClain’s a good kid who got caught up in the recruiting whirlwind. He’ll be better off escaping the Sanders Family Circus and getting into a more structured environment.

If he does show his butt, it will be kicked, not kissed.

And it’s not as if McClain’s slowing down at age 20. The skills that had Nick Saban salivating are still there.

It’s a low-risk/high-reward proposition. When he entered the transfer portal, McClain explained why on his YouTube channel.

“Bring the old version of me out,” he said, “and change the narrative of (what) everyone’s thinking of my name.”

Right now, his name is Cormani McClain, walk-on. If he can change that narrative, Florida will really have reason to break out the champagne.

David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DavidEWhitley

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Cormani McClain needs to get his act together at Florida