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4-star LB Jelani McDonald announces commitment date

On3 imageby:Drew Schott•12/15/22•

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Jelani McDonald (Justin Wells/Inside Texas)

Waco (Texas) Connally four-star linebacker Jelani McDonald revealed his commitment date on Thursday. He will be announcing his decision on Jan. 7 at the All-American Bowl.

McDonald is the No. 137 overall prospect and No. 12 linebacker in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 30 player in Texas.

On3 rates McDonald higher than other recruiting services, according to the Industry Comparison. Per the 2023 On300, he is the No. 82 overall prospect, No. 5 linebacker and No. 19 player in Texas.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Texas has a commanding lead for McDonald’s commitment at 99.1%. He has visited the Longhorns twice, including for an official on the weekend of Nov. 12.

RPM was released to the public in December. The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. 

It factors in machine learning, social sentiment, visits and historical trends. However, expert predictions are still a big piece of the RPM equation.

A 6-foot-2.5, 190-pound prospect, McDonald has an On3 NIL Valuation of $106K. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Jelani McDonald On3 Scouting Summary

The following is the On3 Scouting Summary for Jelani McDonald:

“Gifted multi-sport and multi-positional athlete with a big frame and considerable growth potential. Measured over 6-foot-2, and a lean 190 pounds with a 6-foot-6 wing-span prior to his senior season. Pairs the high-end frame and length with outstanding overall athleticism. State champion in the triple jump as a junior with a 48-2 mark. District MVP in basketball as a junior, showing above the rim bounce while leading his team to a deep playoff run.

“Transfers that athleticism over to the gridiron where he works as a smooth dual-threat quarterback for his high school. Shows good play speed and a long stride capable of pulling away from defenders. Remains to be seen where he ends up at the next level, but projects as a back seven defender. Could play corner, safety or potentially grow into a linebacker. The frame, athletic profile and smooth movement patterns point to a high ceiling. Also younger for the class, not turning 18 until May of 2023.”