Eyes on the Future

By: D. Scott Fritchen

About a month has passed since Jayden Rowe on January 17 laid his head upon a pillow for the first time inside his apartment in Manhattan. Oklahoma, his former school, finished 6-7 with a 21-20 loss to Navy in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Kansas State, his new school, completed a 9-4 season with a 44-41 victory over Rutgers in the Rate Bowl. The records and scores didn't matter as much as this biting reality: All Rowe wanted was a chance to contribute.

And the cornerback believed that he had found that opportunity with the Wildcats. Rowe, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, wasn't thinking about his previous three seasons at Oklahoma. He was thinking about the immediate future.

"And I wasn't really thinking about football," he explained. "I was really thinking about my teammates, about 'Am I going to fit in?'"

That shouldn't be a problem for Rowe, who already is making an impression inside the weight room while also impressing K-State assistant head coach/defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Van Malone.

"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," Malone said. "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."

Rowe, who appeared for interviews for the first time as a Wildcat last week, smiled when asked what he brought to the table as a cornerback. He mentioned that he bench-presses 345 pounds and that he squats 500.

"My length, my physicality, my toughness and my speed," he said. "I'm a way bigger defensive back. I'm 6-foot-2 ½ and weigh 225 pounds. You don't really see that. I was the biggest defensive back at OU."

What is your 40 time?

"A 4.39."

A 4.39?

"I'm not kidding you," he said. "I'm pretty fast."

Rowe played in three games and retained his redshirt in 2022. He appeared in the 2023 season opener against Arkansas State — seeing time on nine defensive snaps — before sustaining a season-ending injury. Last season, he saw action in five games, playing primarily on the kickoff return and kickoff coverage units against Temple, Tulane, Texas, South Carolina and LSU.

How many seasons does Rowe have left to play?

"I can play two more years but really three because I have a medical redshirt," he said.

He said that he toughened it out last season after "really crazy injury" on kickoff coverage against South Carolina.

"I'm the first one down the field and this big 6-5 defensive end tried to block me," he said. "I was going straight to the returner. All I know is he comes by, and I smacked him and broke my rib. He went to the ground. He got flipped. But after I hit him, I felt something like a pop or like something shifted. I went into the training room, and they said, 'Yeah, you broke your rib.' So, the rest of the season I played with a broken rib. Toughness? I'm really tough."

And he's unique.

"When was in the transfer portal, K-State looked at my film, and Coach Malone was like, 'You're a big, fast corner. I've never really seen anything like that.' They try to compare me to Julius Brents, but they say I'm way bigger than him. I'm totally different. I'm one of one."

Brents, of course, started all 27 games over his two-year career at K-State as he earned All-Big 12 honors both seasons. He was taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

"Julius Brents was a physical specimen in terms of his build and stature," Malone said. "At that position, when you look at what we've had over the years, Jayden weighs more and is physically the profile truly of what we look for at that position. We have longer guys, but Jayden is on the top end."

Malone appears excited.

Rowe is excited as well.

"I just want to show off my ability here because I never really had a chance at my old school," he said. "They weren't really trying to show my abilities on the field. Here, Coach Malone and Coach Klanderman, they want a 6-foot-2, 225-pound cornerback on the field to play like a dog and show that toughness and physicality. I'm telling you, I'm totally different than all the other corners who have been here. I'm just ready to play.

"What will it look like when I reach my full potential? A more intelligent football player, elite ball skills, play faster and play stronger, but I'm trying to achieve that right now. When I get there, I'll be a full complete football player."

The dream began on a baseball diamond. Baseball was Rowe's first love. In the fourth grade, while rounding the bases, he completely flattened an opponent who tried to get into his way.

"Dad said, 'We're going to play football,'" Rowe said, chuckling. "So, I played football in the fourth grade and stopped playing baseball."

At Union High School under head coach Kirk Fridrich, Rowe played outside linebacker his sophomore season, then switched to running back and cornerback his junior season.

"I went off that year and had multiple offers," he said.

Meanwhile, Rowe was starring on the track team as well.

"I started track my freshman year," he said. "I ran a 10.38 100 meters. That's pretty fast. My 200 time was a 20.9, which is pretty fast. I was top 20 in the nation for the 100 and the 200 for my age group."

He was also the 27^th-best cornerback in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports and the fifth-best prospect in the state of Oklahoma.

Kansas and K-State both offered scholarships. Fourteen schools offered in all, including Arkansas, Baylor, Iowa State, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Texas Tech, and Washington State. Oklahoma was the only school that Rowe visited, and he committed to the Sooners soon after to stay close to home.

"I should've visited K-State, but I only visited one school and that was OU," Rowe said. "I'll forever be grateful for what OU did for me. They made me a better player. They made me more intelligent on the field. I didn't reach my full potential at OU. I feel like I can reach my full potential here with Coach Malone and Coach Klanderman. Talking with them, it's so cool to talk with them. I feel comfortable talking with them. Being here, they'll make me a better player."

It appears Rowe, who spent his first night in Manhattan wondering if he would fit in, is a perfect fit, indeed.

"He fits in well to the culture in my cornerback group," Malone said. "It's just a group a guys who are intent on doing the best they can every day but then also on being what you call in a lot of locker rooms, a brotherhood. He fits into that really well."

Kansas State University Athletics

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