Gators writer: It would be cruel to yank someone's scholarship for Colorado football transfer Cormani McClain

Colorado football transfer Cormani McClain is going to be a PWO on the Florida Gators for the 2024 season, but there's a chance he can land himself a scholarship in December after the first offseason transfer portal cycle.

Had UF gone another way and tried everything possible to get McClain a scholarship, though, Hail Florida Hail's Benjamin Henderson believes it would've been cruel for Billy Napier to rip one away from a player already in possession of one -- and even said it'd be a hit to the team's culture.

"It would be cruel and could rub the locker room the wrong way if Napier is forced to yank the scholarship of a player who has been putting in the work all spring to give it to someone who wouldn't get the time of day if his name was Randy Phillips and was a former three-star rather than a five," Henderson wrote.

Colorado football transfer Cormani McClain has fallen from grace since Lakeland career

There are many who will blame McClain's downfall on Deion Sanders after Coach Prime was repeatedly hard on the cornerback for missing team meetings, not taking practices seriously, and indulging in the local delicacies in Boulder.

That's lazy analysis. And it infantilizes McClain, who has the talent to be so much more than he was at CU.

McClain mentions that he didn't want to "play for clicks" at Colorado, but it's hard to tell what he was playing for as a member of the Buffs. If he was playing for his next opportunity, it certainly didn't work out. He went from being a 5-star on scholarship to a PWO in a year's time and is the most notorious underachiever in the country having played in the "Prime Time" spotlight.

Hopefully he figures it out in Florida. Being a PWO should light the fire under McClain that went out quickly in Colorado.

It's just hard not to notice the fall from grace for the former Lakeland star. And that's not on Deion.