Jayden de Laura (born August 11, 2001) is an American football quarterback. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars football team before transferring to the Arizona Wildcats football team in 2022.
_(cropped).jpg) de Laura with the San Antonio Brahmas in 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | August 11, 2001 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight: | 207 lb (94 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Saint Louis (Honolulu, Hawaii) |
| College: | Washington State (2020–2021) Arizona (2022–2023) |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Undrafted: | 2024 |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Early life
editDe Laura began his high school football career at Damien Memorial School in Honolulu, Hawaii, playing on the school's junior varsity team as a quarterback, safety, kicker, and punter before dislocating his collarbone two games into the season.[1] He then decided to focus exclusively on playing quarterback, transferring to Saint Louis School in Honolulu, which produced quarterbacks such as Timmy Chang, Marcus Mariota, Tua Tagovailoa, and Chevan Cordeiro. De Laura also worked to increase his weight from 140 pounds with help from his family, including his uncle Mel, a former strength & conditioning coach at Hawaii and SMU under June Jones.[2]
After sitting out his sophomore year due to transfer rules, de Laura took over the starting job from Cordeiro in his junior season, during which he helped lead the team to a state title while throwing for over 2,000 passing yards. In his senior season, he threw for 3,452 yards and 29 touchdowns and was named the ILH offensive player of the year and Hawaii's Gatorade Player of the Year award.[3][4]
A three-star recruit by 247Sports and ESPN, de Laura committed to playing college football at Washington State on October 2, 2019.[5]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jayden de Laura QB |
Honolulu, HI | Saint Louis School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 2, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73
| ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
College career
editWashington State
editInitially unsure about his future at Washington State following the departure of Mike Leach and other offers from schools such as Ohio State, de Laura reaffirmed his commitment to Washington State following the hire of Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich, whose run and shoot offense was similar to the one de Laura ran at Saint Louis.[6]
De Laura was named the starting quarterback for the opening game against Oregon State in 2020, becoming the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener in program history.[7] He missed one game against Stanford after testing positive for COVID-19.[8]
Suspension
editDe Laura was arrested on February 26, 2021, in Pullman, Washington, on suspicion of driving under the influence and was suspended indefinitely from the football team following the arrest.[9] He was later found not guilty on July 29, 2021.[10]
Arizona
editAfter the end of the 2021 Washington State season on January 7, 2022, de Laura entered his name into the transfer portal. On January 10, De Laura announced his intention to transfer to the University of Arizona.
On December 25, 2023, Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch announced that de Laura would be entering the transfer portal for the second time.[11]
Texas State
editIn January 2024, de Laura transferred to Texas State.[12][13] On January 24, de Laura withdrew his transfer to Texas State days after settling his civil sexual assault case and public outcry.[14]
On February 22, de Laura declared for the 2024 NFL draft.[15]
Statistics
edit| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| Washington State Cougars | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 4 | 4 | 1–3 | 78 | 129 | 60.5 | 886 | 6.9 | 5 | 4 | 124.7 | 28 | 34 | 1.2 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 12 | 12 | 7–5 | 227 | 359 | 63.2 | 2,798 | 7.9 | 23 | 9 | 144.8 | 46 | 67 | 1.5 | 3 | |
| Arizona Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 12 | 12 | 5–7 | 272 | 435 | 62.5 | 3,685 | 8.5 | 25 | 13 | 146.7 | 74 | 116 | 1.6 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 4 | 3–1 | 87 | 125 | 69.6 | 1,069 | 8.6 | 9 | 5 | 157.2 | 20 | 131 | 6.6 | 3 | |
| Career | 32 | 32 | 16−16 | 664 | 1,048 | 63.4 | 8,438 | 8.1 | 62 | 31 | 144.6 | 168 | 348 | 2.1 | 12 | |
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m) |
207 lb (94 kg) |
30+3⁄8 in (0.77 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.93 s | 1.76 s | 2.82 s | 4.64 s | 7.55 s | 27.5 in (0.70 m) |
8 ft 9 in (2.67 m) | ||
| All values from Pro Day[16] | ||||||||||||
After not being selected in the 2024 NFL draft, de Laura signed with the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL) on May 2, 2024.[17][18][19] He was released by the Brahmas on May 20.[20]
Sexual assault settlement
editOn May 3, 2023, Hawaii News Now reported that de Laura settled a civil lawsuit stemming from a criminal sexual assault case that was handled in juvenile court. It was reported that De Laura "agreed to pay a woman who said she was raped by the players on October 27, 2018, after the St. Louis Crusaders beat Punahou in the ILH championship game." The woman's complaint alleged that de Laura held and choked the woman "to gain her cooperation" while forcing her to engage in sexual acts against her will. According to the complaint, de Laura texted the woman admitting to the assault. It was also reported that de Laura pleaded guilty to second degree sexual assault.[21] On August 31, 2023, however, a Hawaiian judge struck down the settlement agreement.[22] On January 18, 2024, it was reported that de Laura again agreed to settle the lawsuit.[23] The settlement was reached around the time of his transfer to Texas State.[24][25]
References
edit- ^ Abramo, Nick (June 7, 2018). "GPA MVP de Laura ready to step in at Saint Louis". Hawaii Prep World. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "From Pālolo Valley to the Palouse: Washington State starting freshman QB Jayden de Laura overcame daunting odds". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "Saint Louis QB Jayden de Laura named Gatorade Hawaii Player of Year". Hawaii Prep World. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "de Laura, Evaimalo headline ILH Open Division all-stars". ScoringLive. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ Jayden de Laura [@jayden_delaura] (October 2, 2019). "COMMITTED!!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Wild Monday solidifies Jayden de Laura's commitment to Washington State". KHON2. January 14, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "Jayden de Laura officially named WSU's starting quarterback". KING5. November 3, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "Washington State QB Jayden de Laura has tested positive for COVID-19 after playing Oregon". NBC Sports Northwest. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "Starting quarterback Jayden de Laura suspended by Washington State after DUI arrest in Pullman". The Spokesman-Review. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ Lawson, Theo (July 29, 2021). "Jayden de Laura found not guilty for February DUI, Washington State QB pens letter to fans". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Schultz, Nick (December 25, 2023). "Jedd Fisch releases statement on Jayden de Laura's decision to enter transfer portal". On3.com. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Luca, Greg (January 19, 2024). "Texas State defends signing Jayden de Laura following settlement in civil sexual assault case". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ "UPDATED: Jayden de Laura In, TJ Finley Out. What exactly happened with Texas State's QBs?". Dave Campbell's Texas Football. January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ "Texas State QB Jayden de Laura withdraws from school, no longer with team one week after announcing transfer". CBSSports.com. January 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Lev, Michael (February 22, 2024). "Ex-Arizona QB Jayden de Laura declares for NFL Draft, plans to participate in UA pro day". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Jayden de Laura College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ Truax, Barkley (May 2, 2024). "Jayden de Laura reportedly signs contract with professional team". On3. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ "Free Agency is friendly to Arizona Football as four Wildcats get Signed". Zona Zealots. April 29, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ Kotisso, Nate (May 2, 2024). "Former Texas State quarterback Jayden de Laura reportedly signs with San Antonio Brahmas". KSAT. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ "UFL Player Transactions, May 20, 2024". UFLBoard.com. May 20, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
- ^ Kawano, Lynn (May 3, 2023). "Former Hawaii high school football stars settle civil lawsuit over sex assault case". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- ^ Coile, Norma (September 20, 2023). "Judge rejects U of A QB Jayden de Laura's settlement in Hawaii sex-assault lawsuit". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ Shaheen, Nichaela (January 18, 2024). "Transfer quarterback settles civil suit stemming from sexual assault case". The University Star. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ Kotisso, Nate (January 31, 2024). "How a Texas State University student journalist's reporting made a seismic impact nationally". KSAT. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ Shaheen, Nichaela (January 19, 2024). "Texas State, Kinne respond to The University Star article on de Laura's lawsuit settlement". The University Star. Retrieved January 20, 2024.