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Class of 2025 four-star offensive lineman Jaylen Gilchrist has made his decision. The Rivals250 prospect out of 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 took official visits to each school, checking out the Gamecocks during the weekend of May 31, making the trip to see the Bulldogs during the weekend of June 14, and finally spending time with the Terrapins during the weekend of June 21.
For quite a while in his recruitment, the intel indicated that South Carolina was his leader. However, Maryland made a late push and really gained momentum down the stretch. As Saturday approached, it appeared to still be a close battle between Maryland and South Carolina, but the Terrapins ultimately won out.
He will play his college ball under head coach Mike Locksley, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, offensive line coach Brian Braswell and the rest of the Maryland staff.
Gilchrist currently lists himself at 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds. He ranks as the No. 3 player in the state of Virginia, No. 26 offensive tackle and No. 232 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle.
Gilchrist has received around 25 scholarship offers. In addition to the schools already mentioned, he has offers from Alabama, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Mississippi, North Carolina, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia Tech, 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 Class 5 first-team All-State honors and first-team All-Region accolades last season.
At the college level, Gilchrist provides positional versatility as he can play on the outside as a tackle or in the interior as a guard. Gilchrist is a powerful player with good punch and solid footwork, and he often dominates the high school competition. He also is a tireless worker and studies the game.
With Gilchrist’s commitment to Maryland, the Terrapins sit at 21 total pledges in the 2025 class as of press time, and rank 26th in the national team rankings. Gilchrist’s commitment to the Terps comes one day after three-star defensive tackle Donta Simpson flipped his commitment from Maryland to Miami (FL.).
Maryland now has six four-star pledges in its 2025 haul. Gilchrist joins quarterback Malik Washington (who was vocal on social media about recruiting Gilchrist to College Park), athlete Zymear Smith, defensive tackle Bryce Jenkins, linebacker Carlton Smith and defensive back Jett White as the four-star prospects committed to the Terrapins.