Remembering former Longhorn Jaden Hullaby
The past few days have been somewhat of a blur since hearing Jaden Hullaby went missing. Unfortunately, the blur turned into heartbreak once the horrible news was made public.
Hard to believe that Jaden passed away.
There seems to be a lot of speculation on social media as to what exactly happened. Frankly, I don’t care to know the details of Jaden’s passing, I just know a lovely human being is no longer with us.
The word “recruiting” felt very slimy-car-salesman-ish during my career in football and never quite sat right with me. I consider myself a people person and enjoy building authentic relationships with recruits and their loved ones. In the process of getting to know them, learning what makes them tick, figuring out who they truly are, and how you can help them achieve their goals – you grow to love them. The Hullabys are easy to love.
I combed through the 20,000 plus photos in my phone multiple times, hoping to find one of me and Jaden together but came up empty handed. That was surprising because I was with him so much when Derek Warehime recruited him during the 2020 cycle. However, I searched his Twitter account and smiled when I realized that he posted a photo that I took of him, his family, and Warehime.
I earned a lot of trust from Warehime two years prior when I helped him sign Junior Angliau, so I was Warehime’s go-to recruiting guy and took care of his recruits. Staffers like myself often spend more time with recruits while on campus than the coaches, so I got to know Jaden really well. He was a laid back, naturally quiet guy but you’d learn that he was funny and witty once he felt comfortable around you. Didn’t talk much but said what he meant and meant what he said. He didn’t have enemies, was well-liked by students around campus, and was loved by his teammates.
When I’d inquire how he was doing, Jaden would always respond with, “I’m good” but I never let him get away with just that. I read him like a book and got him to open up to me. I was often his voice when he was holding back or didn’t want to express his feelings and he appreciated that. Teasing him that his younger brother, Landon, could lock him up always got him going.
Jaden’s Official Visit coincided with our 2019 Texas Heatwave pool party and when we hosted Kitan Crawford and Bijan Robinson. I still have the hotel parking valet ticket from that weekend. The Hullabys were an easy family to host. They have an attitude of gratitude, are super polite, and raised their children with strong Christian values. He was an athlete with position versatility who preferred to play running back but was open to playing linebacker as well.
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I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Jaden when he entered the Transfer Portal but was excited for him to reunite with Warehime at the University of New Mexico for the 2022 season. When Warehime was released last October, Jaden entered the portal again two months later and reached out to me to help him find a new home. I was flirting with the idea of jumping back into the college game a few months ago and he wanted to follow me if I did. Jaden had so much eligibility remaining and just wanted a shot with a program and a staff who believed in him. I was excited about the possibility of being part of his comeback story.
That obviously didn’t happen and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about the “what ifs.” Regardless, I’m thankful to have known Jaden and had the opportunity to be one of his guys. I get asked all the time if I miss football – I don’t miss the business of football. I miss being part of a team, the brotherhood, and the relationships. I miss guys like Jaden. May he rest peacefully.
