Jelani McDonald

Jelani McDonald is an American college football safety for the Texas Longhorns.

Early life McDonald attended Connally High School in Waco, Texas, where he played both defensive back and quarterback. As a senior, he was the Offensive MVP of District 11-4A Division 2 after rushing 77 times for 852 yards with nine touchdowns, and passing for 707 yards with 13 touchdowns. On defense he had 25 tackles, four sacks and an interception. McDonald was selected to play in the 2023 All-American Bowl. He committed to play college football at the University of Texas at Austin.

College career As a true freshman at Texas in 2023, McDonald played in 12 games and had two tackles. As a sophomore in 2024, he played in 14 games with four starts and recorded 33 tackles and one interception.

McDonald became a starting safety his junior year in 2025. In the first four weeks of the 2025 season, McDonald contributed to three turnovers in three consecutive games, logging one fumble recovery for 24 yards against San Jose State, one interception for 16 yards against UTEP, and one interception against Sam Houston.

College statistics Year Team GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Solo Ast Cmb TfL Sck Int Yds TD PD FR Yds TD FF 2023 Texas 12 1 1 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 Texas 14 15 18 33 1.0 0.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2025 Texas 13 49 31 80 4.0 0.0 3 27 0 3 1 24 0 0Career 39 65 50 115 5.0 0.0 4 27 0 4 1 24 0 0