Texas State transfer quarterback withdraws in wake of sexual assault settlement

SAN MARCOS, Texas - The man who was supposed to be the next star quarterback at Texas State University has withdrawn amid controversy over a case involving alleged sexual assault.

Texas State reported almost 40 rapes on the San Marcos campus in 2022, up 135% from the year before. Students said a man with a sexual assault background shouldn’t be the leader of the football team.

Jayden de Laura, the former Arizona quarterback, signed to be a Bobcat last Wednesday. Just the day before, he settled a civil lawsuit stemming from a 2018 sexual assault case.

"I found it to be appalling," said Isabelle Johnson, a Texas State Sirens.

"It’s not like this crime was stealing candy from a store, like this was huge," said Paige Moore, a Texas State Sirens.

Court documents said after De Laura and his teammates won their high school state championship, he and another player sexually assaulted a teenager in the stairwell of a parking garage. The documents said the juvenile football players pled guilty, but didn’t spend time in jail. The then teenage girl sued in civil court.

"Yes, he was under the age of 18, but he was also old enough to know right and wrong," Moore said.

Representatives from the Texas State Sirens said the president of the university and the head coach made the wrong decision to allow De Laura on the team.

"I would rather us have a losing football team when I can stand behind each player and talk about their character than win another bowl game, but their morals do not line up with mine, and they do not line up with the university that they’re representing," Moore said.

"It felt like the profit that we would receive from being part of the Sun Belt Conference and being more successful was more important than the respect and care towards the women that attend this university," Johnson said.

On Wednesday, Texas State Athletics released a statement that said, "Jayden De Laura has withdrawn as a student at Texas State University and will not be a part of the Texas State football program."

"It’s a shame that the student body had to do all the groundwork for this statement to be issued and that our administration has left everything up to him as a choice," Johnson said.

Students said they want the conversation to continue so more women feel supported on campus. 

FOX 7 reached out to De Laura about why he decided to withdraw, and he has yet to respond.