Oklahoma Poaches RB Jaydn Ott From California Day After Transfer Portal Entry

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A day after California running back Jaydn Ott jumped into the transfer portal, he has already jumped out of it.
Ott is transferring to Oklahoma, the Sooners announced in a Tuesday evening Instagram post. The 22-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Golden Bears, and led the Pac-12 in rushing in its final season as a 12-team league in 2023.
In 2024, Ott was hampered by injuries and struggled mightily. He averaged just 38.5 yards per game in 10 games after putting up 109.6 a year before; Ott last cracked the century mark in a game in '23 against Stanford.
OU announces it has signed Cal running back Jaydn Ott. Woah. This is a massive addition for the #Sooners. pic.twitter.com/crB0ehIwM1
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) April 15, 2025
Oklahoma is looking to turn over a new leaf after a 6-7 campaign in 2024—its second losing season in three years. The Sooners did show signs of life in the penultimate week of the regular season, destroying Alabama 24–3 to likely keep the Crimson Tide from the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma is set to open its 2025 campaign on Aug. 30 against Illinois State.
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Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .