Mississippi State · W 31-3
9 tackles
The other 7 games average 8 tackles. This one was 1 above.
Jelani McDonald
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Fourth year in the Texas secondary. One game to point at: 9 tackles against Mississippi State — Week 9, 2026.
63 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
63 tackles. 3 passes defended. 1 interception. 3 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 9 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-7vs Texas State | 8 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 24-23vs No. 1 Ohio State | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 30-6vs UTSA | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 20-17@ No. 14 Tennessee | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-27vs Oklahoma | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 24-27vs Florida | 9 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-27vs No. 7 Ole Miss | 12 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 31-3vs Mississippi State | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 63 | 34 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 |
Oct. 31 · W 31-3 vs Mississippi State, play by play
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 8 of his 9, sacks included.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 3 tackles for loss, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Texas’s defense played that day
Mississippi State’s 10 drives: 9 stopped · 1 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 3.
A big game: 12 tackles, including 1 interception, 1 pass broken up. His interception ended Ole Miss’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, up 34-27. Ended Ole Miss’s drive (int).
9 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Broke up a pass. Fourth quarter, up 20-17. Ended Tennessee’s drive (end).
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 8 · 2026
W 34-27
vs Ole Miss
1 interception · 12 tackles · 1 pass breakup
A close one, won by 7 at home.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from +2 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%3 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
63tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%3 TFL63 tackles · 3 for loss · 3 pass breakups · 1 interception.
4 seasons under Steve Sarkisian — 41-10 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 8.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road1g | 8.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 7.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 10.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Steve Sarkisian
Pass share
43.5%
226 pass / 293 run
Plays / game
64.9
8 games
Team sack rate
9.1%
263 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
63 tackles in 8 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #30 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #7 of 57 SEC DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 34 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Steve Sarkisian.
