Report: Jayden de Laura signs with XFL's San Antonio Brahmas
Former Washington State, Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura has signed with the San Antonio Brahmas, according to Pro Football Newsroom’s James Larson.
The Brahmas will have to release a quarterback to make room for the former Pac-12 QB.
de Laura spent three seasons with the Cougars before transferring to Arizona for the 2023 season. He planned to play for Texas State this past season, but withdrew and declared for the 2024 NFL Draft, where he went undrafted.
“For 4 years, I proudly represented Arizona Washington St. and the PAC12, earning the opportunity to start in 32 NCAA games,” de Laura wrote in a statement when he declared for the draft back in February. “Over that time, I have been able to accomplish so much on the field with and for my teammates. It was a dream come true for me. But, my lifelong dream is to play professional football.”
Before he made the decision to leave Texas State, de Laura’s presence also generated a response from the Texas State student body, some of whom organized a protest for his arrival. This was because 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 were to write “letters of apology” to the alleged victim.
On the field, de Laura appeared in seven games in 2023 for Arizona as the Wildcats threw him a healthy helping of 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.
de Laura will now head to San Antonio to get his first taste of professional football in the UFL. He’ll compete with Chase Garbers and Quinten Dormady, who have been splitting time under center this season — both of whom statistically rank in the top 10 of passers in the UFL.