Goal No. 1: COMMITMENT. To common goals and to being successful.
#1 Jayden Rowe
Redshirt Junior | 6-1 | 227 lbs. | Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Position: Cornerback
- Previous College: University of Oklahoma
- Projection: Co-Starter (eventually)
- Status: On Scholarship
Jayden Rowe (b. Sept. 11, 2003) is an athletic transfer cornerback from OU who has battled injuries and a general lack of playing time, which explains why he’d be willing to leave the vaunted SEC for little ol’ K-State.
He has three years left to play two seasons, thanks to a medical redshirt in his back pocket from missing a year.
Rowe, who says he runs a 4.39 40-yard dash, played in three games in 2022 as he retained his redshirt, seeing
time as a reserve defensive back for the Sooners and on special teams against TCU, Texas and Kansas.
He then appeared in the 2023 season opener against Arkansas State — seeing time on nine defensive snaps — before sustaining a season-ending injury that cost him the rest of his redshirt freshman year.
Last season, Rowe saw action in five games at Oklahoma, playing primarily on the kickoff return and kickoff coverage units against Temple, Tulane, Texas, South Carolina and LSU. Easy to see why he wanted a change.
Rowe is currently listed as a co-backup, along with Amarion Fortenberry, to projected starter Zashon Rich.
Here is what his new position coach, assistant head coach Van Malone, said about Rowe back in February:
A guy like Jayden, he’s athletic, he’s been productive over the course of his life as an athlete, and those kinds of people, they walk in and kind of command a certain level of respect. I had a conversation with Jayden the other day. I told him, “Everybody is watching you, how you carry yourself and interact with people.” He’s a guy who mixes into a team and tries to add value to that group. The way he does those things is going to lead him to being a leader on our team.
Of course, it’s always going to be connected to your productivity on the football field, but I think he’ll do a good job with that as well.
Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman also thinks Rowe can be special player in his defensive scheme:
Jayden is a different animal. He’s about 227 pounds and ran a 10.3 in high school and is physical — I mean, he uses it. You think change of direction would be an issue for him but it’s not. He’s a different animal. He came from a system at Oklahoma where they did so much, and I don’t know if he did any technique really well. We do less with our guys but try to do it with great technique. We’re trying to get him dialed in with just that. I don’t think it’s a stress for him mentally, but I think just, “Hey, I’m a divider,” or “I’m a man player.” That’s what we’re trying to work on with him.
He prepped under head coach Kirk Fridrich at Union High School in Tulsa — where he was viewed as the 205th-best overall prospect in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports, which also rated him the 27th-best cornerback in the class and the fifth-best prospect in the state of Oklahoma — and also competed in track and field in high school.
Rowe originally signed with Oklahoma over offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Texas Tech, Tulsa and Washington State.
He also garnered recruiting interest from Louisville. Learn more about Rowe’s journey to K-State in this piece.
