Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 4 | 736th / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 1 | 1269th / 2112 |
| Run stops | 15 | 379th / 3422 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| Pass breakups | 3 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 62 | — |
Charting
Where McDonald's plays went: throw and catch spots, air yards and yards after the catch, read from the play-by-play
The play-by-play names the defender on breakups, interceptions and tackles, but not the man in coverage on every throw, so true times-targeted isn't in the text. Coverage plays is the closest stand-in; exact targets come from hand charting.
Career
4 seasons since 2014 · box-score totals, snap share estimated from play-by-play
| Season | Team | G | Snaps | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD | Havoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far |  Texas#9 · 6-2 | 8 | 99% | 63 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 2025 | Texas#16 · 10-3 | 13 | 81% | 80 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 2024 | Texas#3 · 13-3 | 12 | 14% | 33 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2023 | Texas#5 · 12-2 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Jelani McDonald's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Game Log
Jelani McDonald's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 |  Texas State | W 59–7 | 7.4 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2 |  Ohio State | W 24–23 | 5.9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 3 |  UTSA | W 30–6 | 6.2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 | @ Tennessee | W 20–17 | 7.1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 6 | vs Oklahoma | L 24–27 | 6.2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 7 |  Florida | L 24–27 | 8.0 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 8 |  Ole Miss | W 34–27 | 9.4 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | · |
| 9 |  Mississippi State | W 31–3 | 6.6 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2026 · 8 games | 7.1 | 63 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 63 | 58th / 5664 |
| Solo | 34 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 3 | 596th / 2634 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| QB hurries | 0 | — |
| Passes defended | 3 | 237th / 1772 |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
| Interceptions | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Interceptions | 1 | 145th / 627 |
| Return yards | 0 | — |
| Pick-sixes | 0 | — |
Snaps by Game
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Start | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Penalties | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Texas State | ✓ DB | 70 | ~69 (28–70) | 8 | · | 99% |
| Wk 2 · Ohio State | ✓ DB | 63 | ~63 (25–63) | 7 | · | 100% |
| Wk 3 · UTSA | ✓ DB | 46 | ~43 (17–45) | 3 | · | 93% |
| Wk 4 · Tennessee | ✓ DB | 77 | ~77 (31–77) | 9 | · | 100% |
| Wk 6 · Oklahoma | ✓ DB | 57 | ~57 (23–57) | 7 | · | 100% |
| Wk 7 · Florida | ✓ DB | 81 | ~81 (33–81) | 10 | · | 100% |
| Wk 8 · Ole Miss | ✓ DB | 82 | ~82 (33–82) | 13 | 2 | 100% |
| Wk 9 · Mississippi State | — | 66 | ~66 (27–66) | 9 | · | 100% |
| Season | 7 GS | 542 | 538 (408–542) | 66 | 2 | 99% |
Position Room
20 DBs on the Texas roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Jelani McDonald | DB | SR | 63 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Derek Williams Jr. | DB | 35 | 2.5 | 0 | — | 3 | ||
| 8 | Kade Phillips | DB | SO | 34 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 |
| 29 | Graceson Littleton | DB | SO | 28 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Bo Mascoe | DB | SR | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 |
| 24 | Warren Roberson | DB | SR | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 6 | Kobe Black | DB | JR | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| Jonah Williams | DB | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 11 | Samari Matthews | DB | FR | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 |
| 0 | John Meredith III | DB | FR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 23 | Jordon Johnson-Rubell | DB | JR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 13 | Zelus Hicks | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Xavier Filsaime | DB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Hayward Howard Jr. | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Toray Davis | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Wardell Mack | DB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Yaheim Riley | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | McCoy Bruce | DB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Nick Hudson | DB | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | Jackson Duffey | DB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Texas depth chart →