Is Jelani McDonald starting?
Jelani McDonald is the projected starter at SS for Texas Longhorns.
Jelani McDonald is the projected starting SS on a Elite Texas — 91 OVR.
See full Texas Longhorns depth chart ›Depth at SS · Texas Longhorns
- 1491Jelani McDonaldStarter
- 2975Jonah Williams
What's Next
The Story
Elite-Tier Talent
A 4-star recruit out of Waco Connally, ranked #70 nationally coming out of high school. In 2025: 80 tackles, 3 INT, 3 PBU. That's 8% of the team's production at his spot and 97th-percentile production nationally — good for a 91 overall (Elite tier).
- Jersey
- #4
- Class
- SR
- Height
- 6'2"
- Weight
- 201 lbs
Career Stats
| Season | Tkl | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 80 | 3 | 3 |
| 2024 | 33 | 1 | 1 |
Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.
Recruiting Profile
- Stars
- ★★★★☆4-star
- Composite
- 0.9672
- National Rank
- #70
- High School
- Waco Connally
- Hometown
- Waco, TX
Why this rating?
On a 94-rated defense; 97th-percentile production (×0.99 for competition level) put them +3 vs unit starters → 91.
2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.
2026 Game Log
Sep 12WOSUTKL 7
- TKL
- 7
- SOLO
- 0
- SACK
- 0
- INT
- 0
- PD
- 0
Final W 24-23
Sep 5WTXSTTKL 8
- TKL
- 8
- SOLO
- 7
- SACK
- 0
- INT
- 0
- PD
- 0
Final W 59-7
| OPP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | WOSU | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5 | WTXST | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jelani McDonald's 2026 game-by-game stat log.
The People's Ratings
Team Role
Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.