Texas Football: 4-Star OK State commit Jelani McDonald planning OV

One of the top emerging targets for the 2023 Texas football recruiting class this fall among prospects that are currently committed elsewhere is the touted four-star Waco Connally athlete and Oklahoma State Cowboys pledge Jelani McDonald. Last weekend, Texas hosted McDonald for his first visit to Austin for a game at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

By most accounts, the unofficial visit for McDonald in Austin last weekend was a success. It sounds like Texas made a positive impression on McDonald, especially with the recruiting pitch that he could play a role similar to that of senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.

McDonald also made a good connection with some of the current Texas commits over the weekend, including the elite five-star Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning.

In fact, it sounds like Texas made such a good impression on McDonald that a return trip to Austin for an official visit could be in the cards. According to a report from Jason Suchomel of Orangebloods on Oct. 17, McDonald is “planning” an official visit to Austin later this fall after seeing Texas beat the Iowa State Cyclones during his first game visit last weekend.

Texas football could possibly host 4-Star OK State commit Jelani McDonald on an OV later this fall

As it pertains to a particular date for the official visit, McDonald mentioned that “we have talked about it, just haven’t picked a date”.  He also stated that “any time they give me a day, I’m ready to go”.

That is great to hear that McDonald is so interested in taking an official visit to Austin. It shows that McDonald is clearly interested in what Texas has to offer. He seems to be engaged and attracted to the possibility of playing the hybrid linebacker role for Texas, similar to that of Overshown, to really take advantage of his versatility and gifted physical traits.

I also think this means he might seriously consider the possibility of re-opening his recruitment if an official visit goes well in the near future.

It certainly looks like some of the top-rated Texas commits in the 2023 class are applying a lot of pressure on McDonald to flip his commitment from Oklahoma State. Arch and the four-star Teague edge rusher commit Derion Gullette both reportedly are “telling him to flip” from Oklahoma State.

If Texas can get an official visit date locked in with McDonald in the next couple of weeks, that would be a big next step to put the blue-chip athlete on flip watch.

Something else that could impact Texas’ momentum in the recruitment of McDonald is the outcome of the matchup against Oklahoma State in Stillwater this weekend. I don’t know yet if McDonald will be in attendance in Stillwater for the Texas-Oklahoma State game on Oct. 22. But he will be watching that with a keen eye to see how much progress Texas has made on defense against a top-25 team on the road.

Texas currently holds commitments from 21 recruits in the 2023 class as of Oct. 18. Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns staff have already flipped one commitment from Oklahoma State in the 2023 class in the three-star South Oak Cliff edge rusher Billy Walton.