Just over one month ago, Mike Locksley and his Maryland squad locked up the commitment of one the top quarterbacks of the 2025 cycle. On Saturday, they added a four-star interior offensive lineman to protect him in the future. Jaylen Gilchrist of Salem High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia became the 21st member of the Maryland recruiting class. He is the top-rated recruit in the Maryland class now and the fourth offensive lineman to pledge to the Terps.
247Sports rates Gilchrist as a four-star interior offensive lineman, good as the third-best at his position and third-best from the state of Virginia. 247Sports also has him as the 91st best overall recruit in 2025. He picked Maryland over SEC programs, South Carolina and Georgia.
BREAKING: 4⭐️ Jaylen Gilchrist has committed to Maryland 🐢
The No. 91 prospect (No. 3 IOL in the Top247) chose Maryland over South Carolina and Georgia. 🔥
WATCH: https://t.co/spycP5AOEE pic.twitter.com/tkz36RrXJp
— 247Sports (@247Sports) August 3, 2024
Four-Star Lineman Jaylen Gilchrist Commits to Maryland
Gilchrist is a two-way player for Salem, logging time both at right tackle and nose tackle. He’s a mammoth of a man at over six-foot-four and 296 pounds as a rising senior in high school.
He missed time as a junior with a broken collarbone but provided plenty of great tape in his sophomore year. 247Sports mentioned that while Gilchrist could be either a tackle or guard, his ceiling is much higher on the interior. He has long arms and has great leverage. Additionally, Gilchrist is shown to have strong, heavy hands and can physically dominate in the run game. When watching him on tape, he is a man amongst boys and often overwhelms the competition.
He shows good control of his large frame and when he gets his footwork and hands on the same page, he’s impossible to get past. Gilchrist is an impressive athlete for his size. He’s more than capable of climbing to the second level and taking more athletic linebackers out of the play.
247Sports asserts that he has great long-term upside and can even make it to the NFL. He has a strong point-of-attack and has all the tools to become a great offensive lineman in the Big Ten.
