Jonathan Cunningham, uncommitted 2025 Texas linebacker, talks Oregon State, Miami offers; recruitment open
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - Uncommitted Class of 2025 linebacker Jonathan Cunningham still remembers the day in early May he got his offer from the University of Miami.
He crutched into the North Crowley (Texas) locker room having just had a torn meniscus repaired when Panthers head football coach Ray Gates said there was someone to see the junior linebacker: Lance Guidry, Miami's defensive coordinator.
That is when the 6-foot-3, 190-pound standout added "The U" to one of his dozen Division II offers.
“He said he watched my tape and said you got yourself an offer,” Cunningham said. “I went into the locker room and I was still on crutches, but I was jumping up and down on one leg.”
Cunningham has helped lead a vaunted defense that is among the best in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The three-star prospect is the No. 48 rated prospect in Texas and nation's No. 36 linebacker, per 247 Sports.
The Panthers pitched a 62-0 shutout on Friday night against Fort Worth Paschal. When Cunningham was in the game, he was flying around to the ball and tracking across the field seamlessly.
North Crowley owns one of the best defenses in the area and one of the stingiest when it comes to stopping the run. The front line includes future Division I players in Sterlin Brooks (TCU) and Dacorien Thompson (Lamar).
Paschal had negative-19 yards of rushing in the first half of the game and after getting some yardage on the Panthers’ JV unit, only finished with 53 yards on 36 carries.
“It’s good to have a D-line like that; we can stay back and when it is our time to show up, we will show up,” he said of his defense.
RECRUITMENT STATUS
Cunningham has made recent trips to Waco and a shorter trip to Dallas over the past two weekends to watch Baylor and SMU, respectively, but isn't committed.
For Cunningham, Oregon State comes with some intrigue.
Before the Beavers defensive coordinator and linebacker coach Trent Bray offered on Aug. 19 started to message back and forth on X, formerly Twitter, before finally getting a number from him. When he saw an area code from Corvallis, Oregon pop up on his phone, he was all smiles.
“They asked for my number and called the next day,” he said.
Cunningham also holds offers from Houston, Utah, UTSA, Grambling State and Kansas.
Duke, Arkansas State, TCU and Louisiana Tech have also expressed interest to varying degrees.
“It’s been fun getting to know the other players (recruits) and talking to the older guys to see what it is like on the field,” he said of his favorite part of the recruiting process.
He said he doesn’t have any future recruiting trips planned in the near future, but know knows he wants a mix of a strong academic school and a school that will make him feel like he is home.
Even a school like Oregon State, which is about 2,000 miles away, could offer that. The Beavers roster this fall features nine Texans — including three from the metroplex — DL Quincy Wright (Dunvanville), running back Damien Martinez (Lewisville) and wide receiver Jimmy Valshin III (Arlington).
-- Cody Thorn | codythorn1981@gmail.com | @sblivetx
