By Scott Salomon
Steve Corden of Athlon Sports detailed allegations last week of a certain environment at Colorado that involved weapons, bullying and violence. If the allegations are true, Coach Prime should step down immediately.
The violence allegedly got so bad that Cormani McClain was forced to pack up, leave school and come back home to Florida. He needed to get as far away from Coach Prime and his son Shilo Sanders as humanly possible.
“Cormani was taking a lot of heat from everyone,” a former player told Corder on condition of anonymity. “At the same time Coach Prime was saying he was in the doghouse and needed to improve, Cormani was getting bullied by Shilo (Sanders). After the Oregon State game, Shilo slapped him several times, which left Cormani screaming ‘I’m going to kill you’ repeatedly. After that, you could tell he wasn’t mentally there. It’s hard when the coaches you trust are calling you derogatory names on the practice field.”
This is the same Shilo Sanders who has a judgment against him for $11.89 million from a lawsuit filed by a high school security guard that he allegedly brutally attacked as young prep star. Because of the judgment, Shilo was forced into filing for bankruptcy protection.
It appears as though the young Sanders allegedly feels a bit of entitlement due to the fact that he is Prime’s son.
McClain was not a bad kid. He was one of Prime’s victims. It was even alleged that McClain skipped workouts and team meetings at Florida, where he eventually transferred. It was reported that he was kicked off the team. That could not have been further from the truth,
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The allegations were refuted by McClain’s agent, in writing, on social media.
Information being circulated about Cormani McClain is 100% false. He is on the team and doing well. Social media is crazy. @GatorsFB @FloridaGators @CormaniMcclain1
— Hector Rivas (@HectorRivasJr_) July 16, 2024
Further, Florida coaches came to McClain’s aid and refuted the allegations. Supposedly, McClain, who walked on at Florida, is thriving and doing well in Coach Billy Napier’s program.
Corder painted a very ugly picture of Prime and his program.
“Outside of the fights, which now appear to be spilling over to the field during practice with Coach Prime even encouraging teammates to square off against each other, the gun culture is troublesome,” Corder wrote.
Guns?
Glory Colorado, a FanSided site that covers the Buffaloes, and its lead writer Andrew Hughes reported outside of Shilo Sanders bullying McClain, freshman Jordan Seaton was a victim of hazing as he was forced to fight veteran Savion Washington, who has since transferred out of Boulder.
“Jordan Seaton, another five-star recruit, was allegedly bullied into ‘proving his manhood’ and picked to fight former CU lineman Savion Washington,” Corder prefaced before saying, “In April, the two were said to have exchanged blows, leaving both bloody. Witnesses described it as ‘two bears scrapping for food.'”
Further there have been widespread allegations of players fighting over alleged gambling debts. It has been reported that Kaleb Mathis, son of Colorado defensive backs coach Robert Mathis, and Colton Allen fought over such debts.
“While bullying was also a common theme, there was another alleged incident involving a gambling debt between backup QB Colton Allen and wide receiver Kaleb Mathis,” Corder prefaced before saying, “Days after the Seaton-Washington melee, the son of Robert Mathis, who’s CU’s defensive back coach, was asked to pay Allen over a gambling debt in excess of $10,000, according to a former CU player. When Mathis refused, he allegedly proceeded to punch Allen repeatedly in the locker room, with players and coaches witnessing the assault. Allen allegedly refused to discuss the matter, fearing repercussions due to Mathis’ connection to Prime’s coaching staff.”
There has been no word of any pending litigation between the players or involving the school. Seaton has since denied the allegations of hazing and others will come forward with denials as well. However, if these allegations are proven to have a scintilla of truth to them, this program must be investigated. What’s the truth? It’s always somewhere in between.
I have been accused by Hughes, in the past, of being biased against Colorado and Coach Prime. Hughes is apparently getting a taste for what I had predicted in earlier columns was going to happen.
I predicted that Coach Prime would run a circus. It appears as though this was the type of treatment that should make the circus pack up and leave town.
Even better, Coach Prime should be compelled to resign if much of this is true. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Just leave town and let some other coach pick up the pieces and try to put the program back together.
