High-Upside EDGE Kayden Oakland Hops on the SDSU Train

The new South Dakota State Jackrabbits staff, led by newly-appointed Head Coach Dan Jackson, hit the ground running when it came to recruiting. The Jacks, helped by Defensive Coordinator Brian Bergstrom's ties & connections, hit paydirt in an old and familiar stomping grounds of their eastern neighbor, Minnesota, landing four Top 25 prospects from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, all in the span of a few days. Each Minnesotan brings their own unique skillset and potential to the table, but the biggest pickup of the bunch may be Northfield's own [player_tooltip player_id='400478' first='Kayden' last='Oakland']. From a 6'3, 185 lb. sophomore to a now-6'4, 215+ junior, Oakland is a prolific athlete, averaging 21.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 3.4 APG en route to All-Conference honors in 2025 while surpassing the vaunted 1,000 point mark, and he reports a 4.30 laser shuttle, 34" vertical, and a 445 lb. squat, helping him post 26 catches for 300 yards and 3 TDs along with 31 tackles, 11 TFLs, 5 sacks, 8 PBUs, 2 FF, 2 INT, and a defensive TD for good measure in 2024. Choosing to shut things down early, over offers from Northern Iowa and Minnesota State-Mankato that came in the span of a mere month, and with athleticism and upside as an EDGE to make some serious noise during the summer camp szn, means something exciting happened behind the scenes, and PrepRedzoneMN wanted to catch up with the 2026 EDGE to hear how the Jacks won out in his recruitment. Go Raiders and Go Jacks!   --   A common theme of the Minnesota 2026s who shut things down and verballed to the recent back-to-back national champs has been the visits to Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, and Brookings itself. Oakland noted to PrepRedzoneMN that, "SDSU has held a special place in my heart once I visited there. I was amazed by the game day environment and experience for sure...after some strong conversation with Coach Jackson, he had really gotten to know me as a person, and it really made the final decision easy." Relationships are what recruiting can be boiled down to, and Oakland had a lot of developing relationships on the recruiting trail before that visit to Brookings. Oakland told us that "throughout my process I was taking with SDSU, as well as Kansas, NDSU, Northern Iowa, Minnesota-State, UMD, South Dakota, North Dakota, Drake, and Iowa State." However, the strong hires and hard work on the recruiting trail by the new Jackrabbits staff ultimately made the difference. Oakland told PrepRedzoneMN that, "I have a really great connection with the entire staff and they really made me feel at home and that I was their priority. The program is very special, I mean one of the best in the country for sure, [and] back-to-back champs a couple years ago is very impressive." The culture that has been built in Brookings is still earning wins on the recruiting trail.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/kaydenOakland2/status/1909353469737123916 </div></figure>   As an ode to his hometown, Oakland mentioned that, "Northfield has meant a lot to me, it's a very nostalgic type town with some of the greatest people I'll ever meet who constantly want what's best for me. Some of my favorite players to watch growing up had to be Chris Antoine, Mitchell Stanchina, Mason Zick, Kyan Rauk, and Kamden Kaiser. Some of these guys I have been able to play with for a season, but they are some legends in the town of Northfield and have really been dominant throughout their careers and set a standard for the culture and program." Always good to see a young buck shout out his elders, and Oakland added that "I expect a great year from the Raiders we bring almost our entire team back but the goal is for sure state." To stir the MVFC rivalry pot, PrepRedzoneMN asked Oakland what he was most excited about as a future Jackrabbit, to which the high-upside EDGE replied, "definitely most exited to play NDSU the rivalry with SDSU I've heard is pretty special and I can't wait to play them." Oakland, with pass-rushing juice, a ton of room to fill in, and an extensive multi-sport background, coming in at one of football's premier positions, should be a name that South Dakota State fans get to know sooner rather than later.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/kaydenOakland2/status/1851043413631635887 </div></figure>   --

The new South Dakota State Jackrabbits staff, led by newly-appointed Head Coach Dan Jackson, hit the ground running when it came to recruiting. The Jacks, helped by Defensive Coordinator Brian Bergstrom's ties & connections, hit paydirt in an old and familiar stomping grounds of their eastern neighbor, Minnesota, landing four Top 25 prospects from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, all in the span of a few days. Each Minnesotan brings their own unique skillset and potential to the table, but the biggest pickup of the bunch may be Northfield's own Kayden Oakland Kayden Oakland 6'4" | 225 lbs | EDGE/TE Northfield | 2026 State MN . From a 6'3, 185 lb. sophomore to a now-6'4, 215+ junior, Oakland is a prolific athlete, averaging 21.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 3.4 APG en route to All-Conference honors in 2025 while surpassing the vaunted 1,000 point mark, and he reports a 4.30 laser shuttle, 34" vertical, and a 445 lb. squat, helping him post 26 catches for 300 yards and 3 TDs along with 31 tackles, 11 TFLs, 5 sacks, 8 PBUs, 2 FF, 2 INT, and a defensive TD for good measure in 2024. Choosing to shut things down early, over offers from Northern Iowa and Minnesota State-Mankato that came in the span of a mere month, and with athleticism and upside as an EDGE to make some serious noise during the summer camp szn, means something exciting happened behind the scenes, and PrepRedzoneMN wanted to catch up with the 2026 EDGE to hear how the Jacks won out in his recruitment. Go Raiders and Go Jacks!