This is my first ever mention of Jaylen Raynor, the opening paragraph of my 2023 Spring Game recap:

One is a true freshman who who Butch Jones says “should still be in high school. The other is a highly touted recruit entering his second year. One is a 6’0″ scrambler. The other is a 6’2” lefty pocket passer. Both Jaylen Raynor and Jaxon Dailey showed off their strengths at Saturday’s Spring Game, highlighted by the return of Corey Rucker and big plays from Jeff Foreman.

On that spring day, the team belonged equally to Raynor and Dailey, either one could have been the future of Red Wolves football. Neither was projected to be the present, however. That distinction belonged to a transfer quarterback who had yet to arrive on campus – former Volunteer JT Shrout. Raynor passed for 333 yards and a TD, but it felt moot. Honestly, the day’s intrigue was generated by new Red Wolves basketball head coach Bryan Hodgson, who took the mic at halftime and challenged the Razorbacks to game.

Still, I couldn’t help but to think of Raynor and his Spring Game performance. He was barely 18 but was making big time throws. Unlike the bulk of Butch Jones’ quarterbacks, Raynor also had wheels. Jones was adamant about the kind of quarterback he wanted – a huddle CEO who could calmly throw darts in the pocket. He didn’t seem interested in fielding a quarterback who could improvise when plays fell apart because Jones didn’t have much patience for plays falling apart.

But at the start of 2023, everything was falling apart. The season began with a 73-0 walloping from Oklahoma on national TV – a defeat so terrible the post game talk centered on Butch Jones’ emotional wellbeing. The next week offered fans an inglorious 37-3 defeat to the hated Memphis Tigers. The questions wasn’t “Would the Red Wolves ever win a game?” The question was “Would the Red Wolves ever find the end zone?”

Shrout got himself dinged against the Tigers, giving Jones a reason to start his #2 against FCS Stoney Brook. Jaxon Dailey had some charisma. He wore his eyeblack in the shape of crosses which the fans in Jonesboro tend to appreciate. As mentioned earlier, Dailey was a lefty with a funky throwing motion. However, the coaching staff didn’t seem to take this into account – the plays ran for Dailey seemed to favor a right handed QB. He managed to lead the Red Wolves on a scoring drive that resulted in the season’s first touchdown – a one-yard punch from Zak Wallace. Soon thereafter, Ja’Quez Cross would run for a 66-yard touchdown. But the passing game was a dud. Dailey finished the half a measly 7/17 for 62 yards.

Midway through the third, third string QB Jaylen Raynor entered the game. He immediately picked up a first down on a five yard run. Two plays later, the lightly recruited kid from North Carolina peeled off a 32 yard run. What was this sorcery? A quarterback with legs? It was all well and good, but did this kid even know how to throw a football? The next play was a 13-yard first down strike to Emmanual Stevenson followed by a temporary end to the magic – an incompletion. Cross would eventually cross the goal line.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter of the season’s third game that the Red Wolves finally recorded its first throwing touchdown; an eight yard Raynor to Courtney Jackson strike that relieved a great deal of tension from the A-State crowd. In that instant, Raynor became a kind of folk hero. At last, after more than two seasons of renting quarterbacks from the portal, we had our man behind center – a freshman too young to know his limits. The next week, Raynor led the team to a 44-37 victory over Southern Miss, but the highlight was Raynor running over a Golden Eagles safety.

The Red Wolves finished 6-7 that season, concluding with a loss to Northern Illinois in the Camellia Bowl. Raynor posted 2,550 passing yards and 22 total TDs on the year, earning him SBC Freshman of the Year honors and setting the bar high for expectations in 2024.

Coach Butch Jones brought his starting quarterback to Sun Belt Media Days the next season. Rayner, wearing a bold chain bearing his name and #1, projected supreme confidence. Over the off-season, he had made some noise at the Manning Passing Academy, and he was named to the preseason All Sun Belt Second Team. The Red Wolves were picked to finish fourth in the SBC West, but many felt that Butch Jones and Arkansas State had finally turned a corner.

In 2024, Raynor recorded a decent stat line: 2,783 passing yards, 19 total touchdowns. But between the seasons, the sophomore QB seemed to have lost something undefinable. He threw five of his ten interceptions in his first four games. He seemed hesitant to run the ball. Known for his catchable passes his freshman season, suddenly the accuracy and touch were gone. In high profile games against Iowa State and Michigan, Raynor was woefully overmatched, especially against the #20 Hawkeyes, where he completed only five passes for 68 yards. At one point, an emergency phone call with noted quarterback doctor Jon Gruden was made in attempt to get Raynor back online.

The phone call did the trick. Raynor threw for 345 yards in a win over a very good South Alabama defense. Two weeks later, he tossed three touchdowns against Southern Miss. His last three games of the season, Raynor threw eight touchdown passes, including two in a 68 Ventures Bowl game over Bowling Green. The team fell short of championship aspirations, but Raynor’s rebound and the bowl win put Arkansas State fans in a relatively positive mood.

In 2025, the Red Wolves seemed to have most of the ingredients needed to field an impressive offense. The majority of skill players – including Raynor himself, now a three-year starter – were veterans who knew the playbook well. The offensive line, while a bit young, had depth and talent. Like 2024, Butch Jones once again brought Raynor to New Orleans for Sun Belt Media Days. But the seasoned signal caller was more reserved. Cautious. Perhaps focused. Now a junior, Raynor seemed to know that the sand was compiling. When the Sun Belt released its All Conference Teams, Raynor’s name was not on the list.

After a 345 yard, three touchdown opener agaisnt SEMO, Raynor stared down his most high-profile contest yet – a first ever meeting between the Red Wolves and Razorbacks. But like his starts against Michigan and Iowa State in 2024, Raynor’s performance did not rise to the challenge, throwing for 125 yards, one touchdown, two picks, and running for 33 yards. It was a game that many within the state had waited decades for, but when the whistle blew for the final time, the Red Wolves slunk home to Jonesboro embarrassed by 56-14 defeat to the worst team in the SEC.

Raynor would rebound against ranked Iowa State in Jonesboro, where he gamely led the team with 222 passing yards, 83 rushing yards, and a score on the ground. The Red Wolves would lose 24-16, but the gutty performance sponged some of sting associated with the loss to Arkansas. The Red Wolves seemed destined to make a serious run at the Sun Belt West.

The next two games were a disaster. In the season’s final out-of-conference game, Kennesaw State scored 21 first quarter points, a start the Red Wolves offense simply could not overcome, losing 28-21. The next game, Arkansas State failed to score an offensive touchdown, losing to ULM for the first time since 2009. After running for 83 yards against Iowa State, Raynor was limited to 5 and -37 yards to Kennesaw and ULM. It’s difficult to say whether the game plan shifted from the QB run, or that Raynor simply wasn’t executing. It did appear that Raynor was pushing to pass even when run lanes were open. Whatever the case, Raynor had suddenly become a one-tool quarterback on an offense that clearly needed a tool chest.

After the humiliating loss to the Warhawks, Raynor and the Red Wolves rattled off four straight victories, including a win over Georgia Southern that featured three rushing touchdowns from the Red Wolves junior quarterback. The offense was still struggling – two of the four victories were earned by one point – but Raynor was doing enough to right the ship. For the last game of the season, Raynor would post one of the best games of his career: 363 passing yards and three touchdowns against Appalachian State in Boone. The season (and Raynor’s time with Arkansas State) ended with an entertaining XBox Bowl victory over Missouri State where he’d add another three passing touchdowns to his tally.

The Raynor Legacy

Red Wolves fans love to talk about their Quarterback Rushmore. Ryan Aplin is generally chiseled in Washington’s place, but we generally toss out names like Justice Hansen, Fredi Knighten, Cleo Lemon and heck, even Layne Hatcher and Corey Leonard. Raynor ranks fourth in Red Wolves’ history for passing touchdowns (54) and third for passing yards (8,694). He won two of his three bowl games. But unlike Aplin, Hanson and Knighten, Raynor never won a SBC championship. Unlike Knighten, Hatcher and Hansen, Raynor lost to ULM and he only managed to defeat the Cajuns once. His performance against big time opponents was, to be generous, uneven. An even average game against Arkansas might have cemented Raynor’s legend forever.

And yet, Raynor never failed to represent the University with class and dignity. He assumed the media podium regardless of victory or defeat. He never abdicated responsibility. He never complained. He was the team’s undisputed leader, willing to give up his body for a first down run. He never missed a game. He delivered some of the best 2:00 offensive performances in Red Wolves history. If he played hurt, we didn’t know about it. Raynor”s legacy will be that as a true Arkansas State Man.

Godspeed, Jaylen Raynor. May we someday soon see you again.

MAIN IMAGE: my own