Predicting Texas football’s next commit after 4-Star Jelani McDonald

The latest addition to the 2023 Texas football recruiting class arrived on the afternoon of Jan. 7 at the Army All-American Bowl. The former Oklahoma State Cowboys commit and highly touted four-star Waco Connally (TX) athlete Jelani McDonald publicly announced his commitment to Texas over the Pokes and TCU Horned Frogs.

While he did publicly announce his commitment on Jan. 7 at the All-American Bowl, McDonald actually signed on the dotted line during the Early Signing Period on Dec. 21. McDonald joins almost two dozen other early signees in the Longhorns 2023 class.

Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian have a really solid group locked in the 2023 recruiting class as of this weekend. Sark is looking to haul in his second top-five-ranked recruiting class in the nation in two full cycles during his time as the Texas head coach.

According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2023 Texas recruiting class ranks at No. 3 in the nation and in the top spot in the Big 12 ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Who will commit to Texas football next after 4-Star ATH Jelani McDonald?

Here’s a look at a prediction of the next recruit to commit to the Longhorns after Sark and Texas reeled in McDonald on Jan. 7.

Corian Gipson, S

Among the more common visitors from the 2024 class on the Forty Acres in 2022 was the highly touted four-star Lancaster (TX) safety Corian Gipson. Texas hosted Gipson on a trio of unofficial trips to Austin in 2022, the last of which came on the weekend of the TCU Horned Frogs game on Nov. 12.

And it already looks as if Gipson is going to be a regular on campus in 2023. He’s slated for an unofficial trip to Austin for Junior Day later this month (specifically on the weekend of Jan. 21).

At the moment, I would say that the Longhorns have the lead among the top schools in this recruitment if one had to be picked. Gipson has visited Texas more than any other school since his recruitment really heated up at the end of 2021.

And since Texas missed out on the elite five-star St. John Bosco (CA) safety Peyton Woodyard when he announced his commitment at the All-American Bowl before McDonald on Jan. 7, I’d expect the staff to prioritize Gipson even further in 2023.