USC football a "team to watch" for high-profile Colorado defensive back transfer

There's no question that the USC Trojans need all the help they can get on the defensive side of the football. Now, one option to improve in that area might be a high-profile transfer from Colorado.

Cormani McClain, a defensive back for the Buffalos has entered the transfer portal. Already, 247Sports has posted on social media that the Trojans and South Florida are two teams to watch as possible landing spots.

McClain is a former 5-star recruit and the highest-ranked signee Deion Sanders has inked in this time with Colorado. In the class of 2023, the 6-foot-2, 165-pounder was the No. 14 player in the nation and the No. 1 overall corner.

As you might expect, McClain had quite the offer list as a high school prospect. In addition to Colorado, teams such as Alabama, Miami, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, and a host of others were interested in his services.

As a true freshman, McClain appeared in nine games. Of those, four were starts. He recorded 13 total tackles including six unassisted, one tackle for loss, and two pass breakups,

However, there were times when Sanders was bluntly critical of McClain. When asked about why the star signee wasn't playing more during last season, Sanders did not hold back.

"He's got to prepare," Sanders said according to 247Sports in September. "Study, prepare, be on time for meetings, show up to the darn meetings, understand what we're doing as a scheme, want to play this game, desire to play this game, desire to be the best in this game, at practice, in the film room, and in your own free time." 

Still, the Trojans could stand to add a player of McClain's talent. That's especially true in the secondary.

Last season, USC ranked only 93rd nationally in passing yards allowed per game. The Trojans surrendered 246.4 yards per game through the air.

To help correct that issue, the Trojans have added Doug Belk to Lincoln Riley's staff as the secondary coach. He has spent the past five seasons as the Houston defensive coordinator.

Naturally, it would be wise to surround Belk with enough talent to improve his unit's coverage abilities. McClain would be about as good as the Trojans could do in that regard.

He's rated the No. 22 overall transfer in the portal (as of now) and he would infuse some serious juice into the Trojans' locker room. So keep an eye on this intriguing portal entrant because he could be a candidate to head to Southern California.