The college football transfer portal picked up a big-name player recently as former five-star cornerback Cormani McClain entered his name. He is transferring away from Deion Sanders and the Colorado football team, and he is now searching for a new home. McClain is now one of the hottest names in the portal, and one team that is interested in landing the former five-star is USC football.

USC football and USF football are reportedly both teams to watch with Cormani McClain, according to a report from 247 Sports. McClain is familiar with the Trojans as both teams were in the Pac-12 last season, but both are moving on to different conferences this year.

“USF and USC are two teams to watch for Cormani McClain in the transfer portal, per @TomLoy247,” 247 Sports said in a tweet.

McClain was a five-star recruit out of high school and he had a good freshman season with the Colorado football team last year. McClain ended up totaling 13 tackles as a true freshman, and he should take a big leap during the 2024 season.

It would be a bit surprising to see McClain go to a school like USF because of how was recruited out of high school, but it wouldn't be surprising if he ended up playing for USC. He went up against the Trojans last year while he played for the Buffaloes, and USC is a traditional football powerhouse.

McClain should have a lot of good options to choose from in terms of his next college destination. He should be getting a lot of attention from top schools, and hopefully he can find one that is a good fit so that he doesn't have to enter the transfer portal again. In today's era of college, it is not uncommon to see a player transfer two or even three or more times during their college career.

USC football could use the help on defense

Colorado Buffaloes cornerback Cormani McClain (1) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium.
© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

We all know that USC football needs to fix this season: their defense. The Trojans were atrocious on defense last year and it was a big reason why they had such a disappointing season. USC was ranked in the top-10 to start the year and they had the reigning Heisman winner, Caleb Williams, as their starting quarterback. They were coming off of a season in which they were one win away from going to the College Football Playoff. Expectations were high, but it's hard to win football games when you can't get stops, no matter how good your offense is.

This is why the Trojans need players like Cormani McClain from the transfer portal. The 2024 season is going to be a crucial one for Lincoln Riley, and he knows exactly what he needs to fix. The defense was a mess last season, and if they want to be better this season, that defense has to change a lot.

Riley did hire a new defensive coordinator which should help a lot, but they need more talent on that side of the ball as well. Getting McClain from the portal would be huge.