Laird's freshman year was at Penn State in 2017-18, where he won the Men's Freshman of the Year award in the Big Ten conference.
[3] He struggled academically at Penn State and transferred to Hinds Community College in Mississippi for his sophomore year.
[4] Laird moved on to Louisiana State University[5] where he competed collegiately for the LSU Tigers.
[6] On 27 March 2021, Laird ran a 19.81 200 metres at the Texas Relays meet, which was the third fastest time in NCAA history.
On May 15, 2021, Laird had a similar achievement running 9.80 +3.2 for 100 meters, one of the top 20 performers under any circumstances in that event.