Jaylon Guilbeau details Texas visit, talks about what's next

There was a time very early in the recruiting process when Jaylon Guilbeau knew where he wanted to go to college. Guilbeau gave the Texas Longhorns an early commitment in September of 2020. The Rivals250 member decided to open up his recruitment in July of this year, and he’s now focused on three schools – Texas, Texas A&M and TCU.

The Port Arthur Memorial product is hoping to come to a final decision from those three finalists in the coming weeks, and a big part of the process will be what Guilbeau sees from each team this fall. On Saturday, Guilbeau was in Austin for the Longhorns’ season-opening win over Louisiana, and he said he liked what he saw from Texas both on the field and off.

“Everything was good to me. The atmosphere was good, the stands were packed. That’s what I expected at Texas,” Guilbeau said. “It’s the University of Texas in Austin, one of the biggest and growing cities. They played a great game. They dominated and did what they’re supposed to do.”

Since decommitting from Texas and expanding his options, Guilbeau has maintained that there’s not one school among his finalists that holds an edge over the others. He feels the same way coming out of the UT unofficial visit.

“Everything is still the same,” Guilbeau said. “I just wanted to see how they were going to play, how the DBs played. The DBs played great.”

Up next, Guilbeau is hoping to check out the game between Texas and TCU in Fort Worth. After that, he’s planning on being in College Station to see the Aggies host Alabama. A decision should come shortly after those visits.

“Everything’s still the same,” Guilbeau said. “I’m trying to figure out when I’m going to commit now. It’s going to be soon.”

The message from Texas is that the Longhorns need Guilbeau to step in for a secondary that’s going to be losing multiple starters after this year. The UT staff has also told Guilbeau that he could be a key component in getting Texas back to competing at a championship level.

“They’re telling me they need DBs. Once Josh Thompson and DJ (D’Shawn Jamison) leave, they’re not going to have a lot of guys,” Guilbeau said. “They’re looking for corners, for a secondary to come in, dominate the program, turn everything back up, bring it back to Texas.”

A big part of Guilbeau’s decision will come down to how each program is playing on the field, including the success of the secondary. Through one week, the trio of Texas, TCU and Texas A&M have all had success, and Guilbeau is anxious to see how they play in the coming weeks.

“All three teams’ secondary are looking good. How I’m going to separate them is with the coaches,” Guilbeau said. “In order for me to go to a school, I have to have a good relationship with the coaches.”