Miami's Mario Cristobal not in "Hater Mode" over losing Cormani McClain to Colorado

No hard feeling from the Canes

Deion Sanders isn't well liked by Miami. Not because of his roots as an FSU alum, but because he was instrumental in prying Cormani McClain away from Mario Cristobal's staff in stunning fashion.

The nation’s top defender and No. 2 overall recruit in the 2023 class was originally linked to Miami. However, when Sanders made the transition to Colorado from Jackson State, it was a no-brainer for McClain to be an understudy of Coach Prime.

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Cristobal was asked during the opening of ACC Media Days about losing out on McClain.

"I don't think that losing a guy or gaining one guy makes or breaks an entire program," Cristobal said. I don't think it's healthy, and I don't think it's productive to focus on a guy that you miss. You can only have 85 (players), and you can land between 25 to 40 a year, right... Those are about the number that you can have. You can only be so deep at certain positions.

"When you miss a guy, you don't go "hater mode." You know what you do? You wish that young man the best. Let him go and have great success. He might've been a Miami Hurricane... might not have been one... He's not one right now, and it doesn't matter. Go on and have great success, and I think all parties will be just fine."

McClain is the hottest defensive back to come out of Florida in quite some time. He racked up 58 tackles (3 for loss), 15 interceptions, 17 PDUs, and three forced fumbles over the last two years at Lakeland.

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Cristobal has a bit in common with Sanders. They played at rival colleges with the Canes' coach returning to his alma mater. Coach Prime took over a Pac-12 program in search of a competitive edge, just like Cristobal did at Oregon. The two were also targets of Oklahoma's Brent Venables recently.

Miami opens the season against Miami (OH) on Sept. 1. It's the first of three straight at home for the Hurricanes in Cristobal's second year in South Florida.