SAN MARCOS, Texas — Texas State transfer quarterback Jayden de Laura has withdrawn from school and is no longer with the football program, the university announced Wednesday.
The quarterback joined the Bobcats a week ago, prompting incumbent starting quarterback TJ Finley, who transferred in the year before from Auburn, to leave again for Western Kentucky. De Laura's arrival was met with scrutiny, however.
Texas State's signing of the former Arizona quarterback, and Washington State before that, received backlash after the university newspaper, The University Star, revealed de Laura had just settled a civil suit stemming from a sexual assault case in 2018. The lawsuit was filed in December of 2021 and detailed information from the sealed 2018 juvenile case. De Laura was in high school at the time of the offense.
De Laura and high school teammate Kamo’i Latu, now a senior safety for University of Wisconsin, pleaded guilty in juvenile court to second-degree sexual assault, the lawsuit stated. The University Star's report of the sexual assault lawsuit breaks down the contents of the juvenile case, some of which are graphic in detail.
According to The University Star, citing Hawaii News Now, de Laura and Latu were later charged and plead guilty to second-degree sexual assault, but neither received jail time. Instead, the duo were “required to write letters of apology.”
One day after The University Star reported on the civil lawsuit settlement, Texas State University and head coach G.J. Kinne sent the student newspaper a statement in response to their coverage. The emailed statement said that de Laura was not violating the university code of student conduct or athletics misconduct policies. You can read the full statement sent to The University Star here.
After the news was released, many members of Texas State's student body expressed outrage, which was set to culminate with a student-led protest on campus later this week. Then, earlier this week, The University Star published an opinion piece entitled "TXST puts winning above morals in signing of de Laura."
Editor-in-Chief Carson Weaver called on the university to cut de Laura from the program.
"Tell the alumni you understand this town’s culture and history and now recognize your mistake," Weaver wrote. "Tell the students and their parents you’re building an environment that protects everyone, not an environment that feeds a narrative of being an unsafe campus. Tell those of us who’ve watched the football program struggle for years, and some decades, that we didn’t compromise our morals at the first taste of bowl game victory."
The very next day, on Jan. 24, Texas State released its one-line statement confirming de Laura was no longer enrolled at the university.
Finley's backup from last season, Malik Hornsby, also transferred to Arkansas State before any of this transpired. So, for now, the situation has left Texas State without a clear option at quarterback going into the 2024 season.
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