Washington State Cougars: Jayden de Laura enters transfer portal
In a surprising move for the Washington State Cougars, quarterback Jayden de Laura entered the transfer portal on Friday. His departure marks the end of a crazy 11 month period for de Laura.
On December 31, the Washington State Cougars lost the Sun Bowl to Central Michigan. With his team trailing 21-0, quarterback Jayden de Laura left the game at halftime due to a lower leg injury and didn’t return. His backup Victor Gabalis (a walk-on who was a fourth-stringer six weeks earlier) rallied the team but fell short 24-21. Less than two weeks later, de Laura is leaving.
Crazy Year
The transfer portal announcement caps off a wild 11-month period for the 19-year-old signal-caller from Honolulu. It started last February 6 when de Laura was arrested in Pullman on suspicion of DUI.
Then head coach Nick Rolovich suspended him from the team indefinitely. Maybe de Laura knew under what circumstances or when he could return, but no one else did. In the meantime, Jarrett Guarantano came to Wazzu as a graduate transfer from Tennessee. Spring practice came and went, and no JdL.
Summer camp started without him on the field with his team. Finally, he rejoined the Cougars before the season began, but Guarantano was the opening day starter. That lasted about 10 minutes before the new QB left with a knee injury.
Next came the Rolovich vaccination or lack thereof saga. When the coach was terminated on October 18, de Laura released a statement of support for Rolovich but said he and his teammates understood that “Cougar football was bigger than one person.”
WSU QB Jayden de Laura has released a statement on #Rolovich’s dismissal through his attorney. Posted tonight on the Die Hard Cougs Facebook page. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/yqCFspZqKj
— Melissa Luck ☘ (@MelissaKXLY4) October 19, 2021
The icing on his cake
Maybe his season didn’t start the way it should have, but it finished with a flurry. de Laura’s crowning achievement with the Washington State Cougars came in this season’s Apple Cup victory. He led the Cougs to the most lopsided win in series history, 40-13. In that game, he was nearly perfect, completing 27 of 32 passes for 245 yards.
For the season, JdL was 227 of 359 for 2,798 yards and 23 touchdowns against only 9 picks. His outstanding performance this season earned him Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors.
Jayden de Laura plants the @WSUCougarFB flag in Husky Stadium after their Apple Cup victory 👀🍎 pic.twitter.com/fBWTXF5VxP
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 27, 2021
That same day Washington State lost the Sun Bowl, Incarnate Word quarterback Cameron Ward announced he received a scholarship from the Cougars. New Wazzu offensive coordinator Eric Morris was Ward’s head coach at UoIW, so it’s a good fit even though the Cougars’ original plan was to build the new Air Raid offense around de Laura. Hopefully, Ward decides to play in Pullman next season.
Related Story: Cougars Football 2021 Year in Review
Big offer for top-10 transfer Cameron Ward. His former HC at Incarnate Word, Eric Morris, is now the OC at Washington State.
Ward will take an official visit to Washington State next week, he tells @247Sports. https://t.co/G2lKuQbIaY
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) December 31, 2021
What do you think about former Washington State Cougars quarterback Jayden de Laura entering the transfer portal? Let us know in the comments section below.