Iowa State Football Emerging for Two-Way Class of 2027 Recruit

Iowa State Cyclones camp featured a standout performance from a Class of 2027 two-way player.

Oct 4, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A view of the Big 12 Conference logo on a helmet of the Iowa State Cyclones during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Nippert Stadium. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have been very busy recently, putting together camps in Ames to host high school players.

It allows them to see prospects in action who they are targeting, taking part in different drills. While they certainly have their eyes on specific players entering the camp, there are always going to be a few that unexpectedly emerge.

One player who fell into the latter category is Jaxen Proden. A two-way player from the Liberty North Eagles in Liberty, Missouri, he came out of nowhere to impress the Iowa State coaching staff, earning a scholarship offer in the process.

The first thing that stood out was his speed, as he recorded a 4.5 40-yard dash time to garner attention from the staff, which he continued to build on throughout the afternoon.

Iowa State makes offer to Jaxen Proden

Jan 2, 2021; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of an Iowa State Cyclones helmet during the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

“I’ve been working super hard from about February through May,” Proden said, via Bill Seals of Cyclone Report (subscription required). “I put in a lot of work and lots of long days, so going into the camp, I was super confident in myself and ready to just go out and compete.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, he has played on both sides of the ball with Liberty North, lining up at wide receiver and safety. This is the third offer he has received, and the first from a Division I program, let alone a Power-4 team.

The Missouri Western State Griffons and Concordia University are the other two programs that have offered him. It would be fair to say the Cyclones are in the driver’s seat right now, especially after they got to see him play offense and defense at camp.

“The camp was super fun and organized. I was actually going as a wide receiver for the first part of camp, and then got switched to defense midway through, then I kind of took off from there. It was a great time.”

I had a great time @CycloneFB yesterday, I received a ton of great coaching and loved competing. Here are some of my clips @CoachMalone816 @ISURogers3 @CoachLenti5 @PeteMenage @CoachBRob5 @CoachCless @Coach_Clay9 @OJsimpso32 @CoachBooDOG @CoachEAmoako @Coach_GSanders @coachstepps pic.twitter.com/3FmswTwM3J

— Jaxen Proden (@Jaxenproden1) June 3, 2026

Now, Proden is putting in the work to learn as much as possible about the school and program.

“The program is great,” Proden said. “I haven’t really learned everything about it, but based off what I know, it seems to have great people in the program and with everything around it. I definitely need to learn more about it, though, through the summer, especially the school aspect of it. I haven’t had too many offers, so ISU is definitely at the top for sure and it will probably stay that way.” 

It will be interesting to ultimately see which side of the ball head coach Jimmy Rogers believes he will be best at. That will be key in his recruitment, as he could have a preference for one over the other, and if a school better matches up with those desires, it can impact his decision.

Last season, Proden caught 54 passes for 754 yards and six touchdowns.