Jayden de Laura withdraws from Texas State, no longer with program

Jayden de Laura has withdrawn from Texas State and will no longer be a part of the football program, the university said in a statement. He committed to the Bobcats out of the transfer portal after starting his career at Arizona and Washington State.

de Laura announced his commitment to Texas State Jan. 15 after leaving Arizona, where he spent the last two seasons. His decision came after the program already landed former Auburn quarterback TJ Finley out of the portal, and he later re-entered and committed to Western Kentucky.

de Laura’s commitment also generated a response from the Texas State student body, some of whom organized a protest set for later this week. In May 2023, de Laura and Wisconsin defensive back Kamo’i Latu settled a sexual assault lawsuit stemming from an October 2018 incident while they were in high school. A woman, who was 16 at the time, alleged de Laura and Latu raped her after the Interscholastic League of Hawaii championship game.

The two players “eventually apologized,” per the complaint, and text messages showed de Laura admitted to assaulting the girl. He and Latu eventually were charged and pled guilty to “sex assault 2” and “neither received any jail time pursuant to their guilty pleas.” Instead, they wrote “letters of apology” to the girl.

More on Jayden de Laura, why he decided to transfer from Arizona

de Laura appeared in seven games in 2023 for Arizona as the Wildcats threw a couple looks at quarterback. He completed 69.5% of his passes for 1,120 yards and 10 touchdowns while splitting time with Noah Fifita toward the end of the year. In 2022, following his transfer from Washington State, de Laura threw for 3,685 yards and 25 touchdowns.

After entering the portal, de Laura came in as the No. 27-ranked quarterback in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

In his announcement, de Laura said his decision came as a result of the NCAA’s decision to allow players to transfer a second time without penalty as a result of a December legal challenge.

“On Friday, college football made a decision to allow a second Undergraduate transfer,” de Laura wrote. “I appreciate my time at the University of Arizona, but the opportunity to return as a starter my final year of college, while also getting my degree, is something I must explore. For that reason, I am going to enter into the Transfer Portal, but remain a part of the Arizona Wildcats through the bowl game.”