Heart break for Sonny Dykes and the Horned Frogs as Three-star LB rejects TCU for fierce rivals

In an announcement on Friday, Fort Worth North Crowley linebacker Jonathan Cunningham committed to the Texas Longhorns over the TCU Horned Frogs and Utah Utes.

The 6’2, 195-pound linebacker made an official visit to Texas on June 14, along with visits to see the Horned Frogs, Utes, and Jayhawks, who didn’t make his final three. Among Cunningham’s 19 offers, Texas joined the recruitment late, extending an offer on February 1, alongside Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Miami, Missouri, Oklahoma State, and Oregon State.

With Gary Patterson no longer coaching at Fort Worth, the defensive evaluations from the Horned Frogs don’t carry the same weight under coordinator Andy Avalos. However, the pursuit by Kyle Whittingham and the Utes speaks highly of Cunningham as a prospect.

Cunningham offers positional versatility due to his ability to play in space, whether as a big nickel on the strong side at linebacker or in a box safety role. His ability to cover ground and take coverage drops is evident.

Cunningham’s main area for improvement is adding strength and muscle to his lean frame. Whether he can comfortably add 25-30 pounds or settle into the 210-215 pound range will determine if he can project as an SEC inside linebacker. Currently, his lack of functional strength shows most in his tackling, where he lacks ideal power and often drags down opponents.

Considering his impactful special teams plays in high school, Cunningham’s floor looks like a special teams contributor early in his college career. His physical development at Texas will determine his ceiling and potential to become a defensive contributor, given his projected longer-term developmental timeline according to recruiting rankings.

A consensus three-star prospect, Cunningham is ranked as the No. 461 player nationally and the No. 47 linebacker according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. With Texas recently missing out on the nation’s No. 4 linebacker, Riley Pettijohn, to the Buckeyes, Cunningham joins Dallas Skyline’s Elijah Barnes in the 2025 Texas class, which now features 14 commitments and ranks No. 16 nationally after moving ahead of Rutgers in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.