Cal Running Back Jaydn Ott Never Considered Transferring

Cal fans went through the offseason waiting for the other shoe to drop regarding Jaydn Ott.

A slew of players transferred out of Cal after the 2022 season, including standout wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant. There were suspicions – perhaps fears – that Ott, who had become a star running back as a Cal freshman in 2022, would transfer out too.

Afterall, he had proclaimed before the 2022 season that playing in the NFL was his goal, so why wouldn’t he want to move to program that was primed for success and featured a strong offensive line, something that was lacking at Cal last season.

The shoe never dropped. The fears never materialized. Ott is still at Cal, with spring workouts scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

But did Ott consider transferring?

“No, never,” he said Monday.

Why?

“Man, this is my home,” he said. “I think we have something that we’re building here and I want to be a part of that.”

What about all the social media rumors that this program or that program wanted him?

“Honestly, I didn’t really hear anything,” he said. “Maybe other people did. I saw a lot of things on Twitter of people thinking I was going to leave Cal, but I never heard from any teams, nobody reached out to me. I’m comfortable here. I love it here. I’m a Bear.”

That is great news for Cal.

Ott burst into the national spotlight by rushing for 104 yards in his first college game, then ran for 274 yards on just 19 carries against Arizona in the fourth game of the 2022 season. A true freshman, Ott became the target of every opposing defensive scheme the rest of the season. That and inconsistencies by the Bears’ offensive line limited Ott to 897 yards, an impressive total for someone in his first season of college ball, but short of what the early season performances promised.

Gaining 1,000 yards is his stated goal for 2023.

“Definitely the 1,000-yard mark,” he said. “I’ve striving for that this year.”

Ott also wants to put on some weight to power through tackles and withstand the wear and tear of a season.

Having a quality backup to take some of the pressure off him is a must, and after running backs Damien Moore and DeCarlos Brooks entered the transfer portal, Cal brought in two transfer running backs – Justin Williams-Thomas from Tennessee and Byron Cardwell from Oregon.

Cardwell is an interesting case. He had an outstanding freshman season for the Ducks in 2021, rushing for 417 yards after CJ Verdell suffered a season-ending injury. His 6.8 yards per carry that season was the best in the Pac-12 among players who ran for at more than 100 for the season. It was also Mario Cristobal’s final season as Oregon’s head coach.

Cardwell entered the 2022 season on the Watch List for the Doak Walker Award and figured to compete for a starting job. He came off the bench in the first two games and ran for 76 yards on 11 carries, a 6.9 average per attempt. Then Cardwell got hurt and did not play in another game, opting to redshirt after the fifth game of the season, he said.

It was difficult at the time, but in retrospect Cardwell says it was a positive experience.

“I’m glad I went through it, because it’s made me into a better man and person, and believer in my faith,” he said Monday.

“Kind of having a lot of mental battles I was going through,” Cardwell said. “Just not having the opportunity to play the game I love. Just kind of getting my mental and physical all back together. Looking at it as a positive instead of a negative as a lot of people would and as I did at one point. Just kind of changed my mindset on that and working the best way I could.”

Ten Won’t Participate in the Spring

Ten Cal players will not participate in spring practices, primarily because of injury. Here are the 10 non-participants, several of whom are expected to be starters in 2023:

Defensive back Collin Gamble

Outside linebacker Xavier Carlton

Defensive lineman Darius Long Jr.

Defensive lineman Jaedon Roberts

Wide receiver Tommy Christakos

Defensive lineman Brett Johnson

Defensive lineman Akili Calhoun

Wide receiver Mason Mangum

Wide receiver Mason Starling

Defensive back Tyson McWilliams

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