Jayden Jernigan Commits Out of the Portal to Missouri

STILLWATER – That didn’t take long as Allen, Texas native and Oklahoma State red-shirt sophomore and back-up defensive tackle Jayden Jernigan announced via Twitter on Sunday evening that he is heading to Missouri. The 6-1, 285-pound Jernigan reportedly was looking for a school where he could get more reps. As a defensive tackle, Jernigan at Oklahoma State was a little undersized and was averaging in the 25-30 reps a game range. He did get more than that on a couple of occasions at Iowa State and in the Fiesta Bowl win on Saturday over Notre Dame.

There were reports that his father thought he should be playing more. The thought is Missouri may try to make him into a defensive end as he has the weight of a lot of strong-side defensive end in the SEC.

Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports

Jernigan sacks Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier.

Jernigan had three tackles in the win over Notre Dame with two unassisted. He also had one pass break up and one quarterback hurry. On the season, the native of Allen, Texas and the powerhouse Eagles high school football program had 16 tackles with 10 unassisted, four tackles for loss and two sacks. in his Cowboys career he had 24 tackles with 13 unassisted, six tackles for loss, and four sacks.

Jernigan and safety Tanner McCalister are the two influential Cowboys that have gone in the portal. Back-up offensive lineman Hunter Anthony is heading to Nebraska next semester. McCalister hasn’t decided but told Pokes Report’s Marshall Levenson that Ohio State is in the mix. We have also heard interest in LSU. There is a possibility that he stays put as a starter in the Cowboys secondary.

Oklahoma State immediately offered University of Tulsa defensive tackle Jaxon Player this week when he entered the portal. The 6-0, 290-pound Player is a two-time All-AAC defensive tackle that has drawn plenty of interest. He would likely be a candidate that could eat up Jernigan’s reps and more next season if he wound up in Stillwater.