Predicting Texas football’s next commit after 4-Star Jelani McDonald
Jalen Catalon, S
The lone NCAA Transfer Portal player on this list is the former touted four-star Mansfield Timberview recruit and redshirt junior safety Jalen Catalon. The former Arkansas Razorbacks fourth-year defensive back is now firmly on the radar of safeties coach Blake Gideon and the Longhorns after he put his name in the portal a little less than one month ago.
Catalon is set to be on campus in Austin this weekend for a visit as Texas is really starting to prioritize his recruitment out of the portal. As far as we know, Catalon is the only portal player visiting Texas this weekend.
Texas has a clear positional need at safety, and Catalon could have an immediate impact on this unit next season if he ultimately chooses the Longhorns as his next stop out of the portal.
The safety need is even more pronounced for the Longhorns after this staff missed out on the talented and hard-hitting former Syracuse Orange redshirt sophomore DB Ja’Had Carter at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes last week.
That is why the visit for Catalon to the Forty Acres this weekend is so important for the Longhorns. If Catalon is healthy and ready to go for the 2023 season, he could be about as good of an addition to the safety room as anyone Texas could get out of the portal this offseason.
In his only fully healthy season as a full-time starter at Arkansas in 2020, Catalon was the second-highest-graded safety in the SEC.
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At this moment, I would anticipate that the Longhorns are going to fully push for a commitment out of the portal from Catalon. The need at safety is just too important to fill this offseason to pass up the possibility of getting a player that could be one of the best at his position in the Big 12 in 2023.