Cal RB Jaydn Ott Announces He'll Be Back at Cal in 2024
Cal's all-Pac-12 running back Jaydn Ott announced via social media on Friday morning that he plans to return to Cal for the 2024 season.
There had been suspicions that Ott, a sophomore, might be lured to transfer elsewhere with the amount of dollars floating around in the NIL (name, Image and likeness) possibilities at other schools.
But he will stay at Cal another year, and will be in the Bears' starting lineup for Saturday night's Independence Bowl against Texas Tech in Shreveport, Louisiana. Cal will be playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
Ott's decision suggests Cal's NIL collective -- California Legends Collective -- must be doing all right.
Ott started his Friday morning twitter announcement by saying he was entering the transfer portal. Then he returned to the video to say, "Nah, I'm staying."
During Friday' morning's Independence Bowl press conference, Ott continued the joke.
When asked about his decision to stay, Ott responded with this:
"Well, I actually entered the transfer portal this morning and I jumped right back in to Cal," he said. "No, I'm playing."
To which Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said, "That's the worst joke I've ever heard."
Ott then went on to say this:
"I posted a little video saying I was leaving, scared a couple people I guess, and I said I was just joking, just joshing."
Ott was Cal's only first-team all-conference selection this season after rushing for 1,260 yards in 11 games. It is the seventh highest single-season total in Cal history, and he can move up to the fifth-best season if he rushes for his average of 114.5 yards a game in Saturday night's Independence Bowl. Ott ranks seventh in the country in yards per game.
Besides his impact as a running back, Ott showed his influence as a kick returner in the final regular-season game against UCLA. In the first kickoff return of his life, Ott returned a UCLA kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, which was a pivotal play in Cal's 33-7 victory over the Bruins that made Cal bowl-eligible.
When asked whether Ott will return kickoffs in the Independence Bowl, Wilcox did not provide a definitive answers and said, "We'll see."
The most attractive feature of the Independence Bowl is the running back matchup between Ott and Texas Tech's Tahj Brooks, who has rushed for 1,442 yards this season and announced two weeks ago that he will return to Texas Tech for his final season of eligibility.
Cover photo of Jaydn Ott by Robert Edwards, USA TODAY Sports
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