Fast-rising Jelani McDonald stepping up for Texas at safety

After playing multiple positions as a true freshman, injuries have forced the Waco Connally product into a prominent role. He looks ready for it.

Jelani McDonald comin’, y’all.

The Texas Longhorns sophomore safety flashed in his first career start against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, an early way point for the 2023 signee on a trajectory that could be stratospheric only two years after head coach Steve Sarkisian’s staff offered the Waco Connally product.

Let’s start even before that.

When the Texas staff began evaluating McDonald, the raw athleticism stood out — as a junior, the 6’2, 205-pounder won the Texas 4A triple jump at 48-2 in the spring of 2022.

The track exploits came after a basketball season during which McDonald helped Connally to a 31-4 record, earning Waco Tribune-Herald Super CenTex boys basketball Player of the Year after averaging 20.5 points per game in the playoffs with the help of his 78-inch wingspan.

On the gridiron the previous fall, McDonald had helmed the Connally offense, throwing for 865 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushing for 576 yards on 76 attempts (7.6 ypc).

By the time that he committed to Oklahoma State during the summer of 2022, he was still largely flying under the recruiting radar of the services — 247Sports hadn’t even rated him yet.

McDonald’s senior season thrust him further into the national recruiting spotlight by playing on both sides of the ball, rushing 77 times for 852 yards (11.1 ypc) with nine touchdowns, completing 33 passes for 707 yards and 13 touchdowns, and registering 25 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, and one interception as a senior while earning Offensive MVP of District 11-4A Division 2.

Texas offered on the basis of his midseason senior film after taking note of McDonald’s football pedigree — his father, LaMarcus, was an All-American linebacker at TCU who had a monster 2002 season with 118 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks.

“Okay, it’s somewhere in there, too,” the Longhorns staff told themselves.

“It’s coming,” McDonald announced on his senior highlights.

By the time that McDonald officially committed to the Longhorns at the All-American Bowl despite a late push from the Horned Frogs, he was a top-100 prospect ranked as the nation’s No. 2 athlete, according to the 247Sports Composite, and had flashed that remarkable athleticism by stifling some of the nation’s best wide receivers playing cornerback in practice.

After enrolling on the Forty Acres during the summer, McDonald bounced around as the Texas coaching staff tried to determine his ultimate position and how his frame would develop in Torre Becton’s strength and conditioning program.

Some days, McDonald was at nickel back. Some days he was at linebacker. Some days he was at cornerback. Some days he was at safety.

While McDonald developed behind the scenes shuffling through positions to determine his future role, he played on three special teams units for the Horns as a true freshman, recording two tackles against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship game.

“We were just kind of trying to figure out what he could be. All the while he had an impact on special teams as we were going,” Sarkisian said.

Because junior Jaylon Guilbeau was back to full health and taking over the starting role at nickel back during spring practice, the Texas staff settled on playing McDonald at safety, where he battled for a spot in that rotation in a revamped room that saw Jerrin Thompson and Kitan Crawford depart via the NCAA transfer portal and Andrew Mukuba return to his home town from Clemson for his senior season.

As McDonald continued to develop and draw some buzz during preseason camp, he earned the backup boundary safety role behind Mukuba. With Mukuba’s knee injury in the loss to Georgia and the season-ending injury to fellow sophomore Derek Williams, McDonald stepped into the starting role for the first time against Vanderbilt.

He showed up around the football and finished when the opportunity presented itself, slotting second on the team in tackles with seven (five solo) and a tackle for loss. In coverage, McDonald allowed three receptions on four targets, but they only went for 20 yards combined with just three yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus — he was assignment sound and, again, he finished plays.

The biggest opportunity for McDonald that went wanting wasn’t even his fault. On the fourth-down touchdown pass by Diego Pavia late in the third quarter, McDonald was in position to intercept the throw, but it was deflected by sophomore linebacker Liona Lefau right into the hands of a Vanderbilt wide receiver.

“He’s a stud. I mean, what an athlete. What a guy that just comes in and it’s like, ‘Man, that guy’s going to be a stud,’ not because of his athleticism, but because of his effort, how he gets to the ball. That showed tonight. So proud of that guy. He’s a beast,” redshirt junior safety Michael Taaffe said after the Vanderbilt win.

Taaffe wasn’t the only player to rave about McDonald in Saturday’s post-game press conference.

In terms of the reps that it takes to develop into a high-level defender, McDonald’s pure lack of experience may be the only thing limiting his current ceiling.

“I think it’s been huge for him to be in a room with a Michael Taaffe and an Andrew Mukuba, two guys who have a ton of experience that he can lean into. He’s really grown at the position,” Sarkisian said.

“I thought he played a great game Saturday, but I also think his best days are ahead of him — this is his first time ever really doing this, and so just through experience alone I think his play is going to improve.”