Hail Florida Hail
Fansided

Five recent reclamation projects for Florida Football that didn't pan out

With words swirling that Cormani McClain is having a hard time, here are some other notable projects the Gators have taken on over the years

By Benjamin Henderson

Oct 29, 2022; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. (1) prior to the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2022; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. (1) prior to the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

When Florida Football went out and grabbed Cormani McClain from the transfer portal, everyone knew it was going to be a reclamation project. The former five-star had a poor freshman year at Colorado, there was hope that he could turn it around once in Gainesville and away from the circus in Boulder.

Based on a report from On3's Nick de la Torre, McClain is already having some struggles in Gainesville with some of the same things that got him into hot water at Colorado.

Whatever may or may not be happening behind the scenes, McClain's story with Florida is still far from over. However in recent years there have been a handful of similar players who transferred to Florida with a high profile and didn't pan out.

The following are five recent reclamation projects that didn't pan out for the Gators.

Brenton Cox

Coming out of high school, Brenton Cox was one of the most coveted prospects in the country. The defensive end out of Georgia ended up committing with his home state Bulldogs as part of the class of 2018. His time with Kirby Smart was short lived as Cox was arrested in 2019 and was invited to leave the program later that year.

He came to Florida and had a monster game against FSU in 2021 that created high hopes for Cox ahead of the 2022 season. And while Cox had an okay 2022 season where he did manage eight tackles for a loss, he was dismissed by Billy Napier mid-season for a "cumulative effect" of incidents.

Cox was undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft but did stick around with the Green Bay Packers on their practice squad and did manage to get into four games last season.