Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Rivals.com, the leader in college football and basketball recruiting coverage. Be the first to know and follow your teams by signing up here.
Four-Star Offensive Lineman Class of 2025 Jaylen Gilchrist made his decision. O Rivals250 prospect from Salem High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, announced his commitment to Maryland on Saturday.
On July 11, Gilchrist released a Top three of Maryland, South Carolina and Georgia. He made official visits to each school, checking out the Gamecocks the weekend of May 31, taking a trip to see the Bulldogs the weekend of June 14, and finally spending time with the Terrapins the weekend of June 21th.
For a long time during his recruitment, intelligence indicated that South Carolina was his leader. However, Maryland made a late push and really gained momentum down the stretch. As Saturday approached, it still appeared to be a close battle between Maryland and South Carolina, but the Terrapins ultimately won.
He will play his college ball under the head coach Mike Locksleyoffensive coordinator Josh Gattisoffensive line coach Brian Braswell and the rest of the Maryland team.
Gilchrist currently lists himself at 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds. He is ranked as the No. 3 player in the state of Virginia, the No. 26 offensive lineman and the No. 232 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle.
Gilchrist received about 25 scholarship offers. In addition to the schools already mentioned, it has offers of Alabama, Duke, Florida, State of Florida, Mississippi, North Caroline, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia Technology, West Virginia and several others.
As a junior in 2023, Gilchrist helped lead Salem to a 7-5 overall record and a playoff victory. He earned first-team Class 5 All-State honors and first-team All-Region accolades last season.
At the college level, Gilchrist offers positional versatility as he can play outside as a tackle or inside as a guard. Gilchrist is a powerful player with a good punch and solid feet, and often dominates high school competitions. He is also a tireless worker and studies the game.
With Gilchrist’s commitment to Maryland, the Terrapins have 21 total commitments in Class of 2025 at the time of this publication, and occupied 26th place in the ranking national team ranking. Gilchrist’s commitment to Terps comes one day later Three-star defensive tackle Donta Simpson has switched his commitment from Maryland to Miami (FL.).
Maryland now has six four-star 2025 prospects. Gilchrist joins quarterback Malik Washington (who spoke on social media about Gilchrist’s recruitment to College Park), athlete Zymear Smithdefensive attack Bryce JenkinsDefender Carlton Smith and defensive backs Jett White like the four-star prospects committed to the Terrapins.
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