Texas Football: 4-Star ATH Jelani McDonald receives massive rating bump

The most recent addition to the 2023 Texas football recruiting class was the highly touted four-star Waco Connally (TX) athlete Jelani McDonald. Texas did sign McDonald during the Early Signing Period, but he waited to announce his commitment publicly until the All-American Bowl on Jan. 7.

McDonald’s commitment brings the Longhorns up to two dozen early signees in the 2023 class nearly a month after the conclusion of the Early Signing Period.

What is different about McDonald, though, is some of the national attention he’s garnered in the last few months. McDonald’s stock skyrocketed in the midst of a big senior season at Connally High School. His standout 2022 campaign at Connally was a big reason why he surfaced on Texas’ radar as this staff went through senior evaluations last summer and fall.

McDonald’s big senior campaign combined with his insane physical tools drove one of the major recruiting services to give him a pretty sizable rating bump in their final update for the 2023 class.

4-Star Texas football ATH signee Jelani McDonald nearly earns a fifth-star in the latest On300 update

In their final 2023 ranking update, On3 bumped McDonald up to the No. 41 prospect in the nation. That nearly put him in the realm of five-star status. He essentially jumped halfway up the list, as McDonald was previously rated as the No. 82 prospect in the nation for the 2023 cycle.

And according to On3, McDonald was the third biggest riser among the recruits included in the final On300 rankings update for the 2023 cycle. For clarity’s sake, McDonald was the third highest-rated recruit among the biggest risers mentioned by On3 in the final rating update.

The only two that were bigger risers than McDonald were the Ole Miss Rebels’ newly-minted five-star Raleigh (MS) linebacker Suntraine Perkins and Florida Gators four-star Osceola Kissimmee (FL) cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson.

What’s pretty crazy about this latest rating update is that On3 now tabs McDonald as the third-highest-rated signee in the Longhorns 2023 class. That places him above the likes of five-star Denton Ryan linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., five-star DeSoto wide receiver Johntay Cook, and five-star New Iberia Westgate (LA) safety Derek Williams.

The latest rating update bumps Texas back up into the top three 2023 recruiting classes in the nation and in the top spot in the Big 12 in the On3 Team Rankings.

McDonald is a recruit that we’re very high on at Hook’em Headlines. He’s got a rare set of physical tools and versatility that got him the frequent label of a “defensive chess piece” at the next level. He will take a little while to develop in Pete Kwiatkowski’s system at Texas, but he’s got a ton of long-term potential as a hybrid linebacker.

While Texas did bring in more than half of the 2023 class as early enrollees this semester, McDonald is not included in that mix. He will be arriving on campus for the summer semester after he finishes his senior year at Connally.