McClain was Coach Prime’s top high school signee last year, flipping to Colorado from Miami after Sanders was hired. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound freshman was a five-star recruit out of Lakeland, Florida, rated as the No. 2 overall prospect of 2023 in the 247Sports composite rankings. Last season, he made 13 tackles and had two pass breakups, starting four games and playing in nine.

Woodyard is a former four-star safety who signed with Alabama as part of the 2024 recruiting class, Nick Saban’s last with the Crimson Tide. Like several other high-profile members of Saban’s final classes, the former standout at St. John Bosco High School in Southern California left the program following the legendary head coach’s retirement in January. Woodyard was committed to Georgia at one point and also heavily recruited by Ohio State and hometown USC, but has since confirmed he will be playing for the Oregon Ducks next season.

Edwards, a former four-star recruit, was the first notable high school recruit to flip his commitment to the Buffaloes after Deion Sanders took over Colorado’s program in Dec. 2022, thanks in large part to a long association with Sanders dating back to Edwards’ youth football days. Edwards then made a massive impression in his first college game, racking up 159 total yards of offense and scoring four touchdowns in Colorado’s dramatic 45-42 upset of TCU in Fort Worth. Although Edwards cooled off after that, he still led Colorado in rushing with 321 yards on the ground, and Sanders had praised him as a big part of the Buffaloes’ 2024 offensive plans.

Edwards, out of Derby, Kansas, now joins a promising home-state Kansas State program that won the Big 12 two years ago and carries a promising roster into 2024 led by former four-star quarterback Avery Johnson and bolstered by the addition of Edwards. Due to Colorado’s return to the Big 12, Edwards will return to Boulder to face “Coach Prime” and his former teammates on Oct. 12 next season.