Redshirt Sophomore* | 6-4 | 230 lbs. (+4) | St. Louis, Missouri
Jacobi Oliphant Jr. | Courtesy Kansas State Athletics
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Previous College: Oklahoma State University
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Remaining Eligibility: 3 years
Jacobi “DINO” Oliphant Jr. (b. March 14, 2006) is young, promising linebacker who transferred from Oklahoma State and is majoring in psychology. He should be a key part of K-State’s linebacker rotation this season and also play on special teams.
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Oliphant played on five special teams plays against Texas Tech in 2024 as he retained his redshirt*, recording a tackle on kickoff coverage against the Red Raiders.
Last season, he played in all 12 games with two starts, recording 26 tackles, two sacks and a pass breakup over 136 defensive snaps while also seeing time on 135 special teams plays.
Oliphant set a career high with four tackles against both Baylor and Houston, while he had three apiece against Arizona, UCF and Iowa State; recorded sacks against Arizona and Iowa State; and broke up a pass against Baylor.
In Stillwater, he played with fellow transfers and current K-State long snapper Jaxson Duffield, defensive end Wendell Gregory and running back Rodney Fields Jr.
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Oliphant prepped under head coach Adam Cruz at St. Louis (Mo.) University High School, where he played defensive back in high school and was rated the 79th-best cornerback in the Class of 2024 by ESPN in addition to being ranked No. 82 by Rivals. (Read a great story here about how he put on weight and changed positions.)
He concluded his high school career with 211 tackles, four sacks, five fumble recoveries and five interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.
Oliphant finished his senior season with 86 tackles, three sacks, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, four fumble recoveries and two kickoff return touchdowns en route to all-district honors from the Missouri Football Coaches Association.
He recorded 51 tackles and four interceptions during his junior season as he earned all-conference accolades; also had 105 receiving yards and 411 kickoff return yards in his career; and ran track, earning eight all-state honors.
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Oliphant’s grandfather, Kevin Hagens, played football for both Drake and Missouri.
He originally signed with Oklahoma State over offers from Alabama A&M, Arkansas State, Ball State, Boston College, Colorado State, Lindenwood, Miami (Ohio), Missouri State, Ohio, UConn and Wyoming, as well as recruiting interest from Arkansas, Iowa, K-State, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. Oliphant’s primary recruiter at OSU was current K-State running backs coach Cory Patterson.
All this makes Jax’s and Jet’s decisions to attend K-State, not KU, all the more entertaining!
*K-State has recently announced a new classification scheme that designates players by their year of eligibility regardless of whether they have “redshirted,” a term that will go out of use with the new “5-for-5” rule. Thus, the KSU SID lists Oliphant as a true junior even though he barely played in 2024. For the sake of consistency with past posts, I will continue to designate redshirts based on their playing history, but also note their remaining eligibility to stay consistent with the new designations as well.
