When OU football's preseason camp opens Thursday, the Sooners will have a star as RB1 in Jaydn Ott. Here's why he chose OU.
NORMAN — Jaydn Ott didn’t know much about Oklahoma.
When the Southern California native and former Cal Golden Bears standout moved over 1,500 miles from Berkeley, his knowledge of the state was limited to the running back he looked up to most growing up — Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders — and past OU greats Baker Mayfield, Joe Mixon, DeMarco Murray and Adrian Peterson.
So when Ott encountered a hornet’s nest by his garage door the other day, he was unsure what to do.
“You got a lot of bugs out here,” Ott said Wednesday, one day before the Sooners open preseason camp. “I almost hit it down, but a couple of people on Instagram said that'd be a bad idea. Other than that, there are no distractions out here. I've been getting into fishing, doing a couple of country things.”
When Ott announced his decision to transfer in April, several questions arose.
Among them, why would one of the most accomplished running backs in the country move on from a place he called home for three seasons this past spring? And why choose OU?
“Going into the spring last year, I decided to thug it out, see if it was the right spot for me at Cal,” Ott said. “I had a good spring, but I just felt like it was time to move on. I had a good time at Cal and a good experience, but I just really wanted to grow as a player, so I decided to take a look at some other schools, some other options. I talked to the coaches once I was in the portal, and it went down fairly quickly. It just felt like a good spot for me here.”
For the first time in years, when camp opens Thursday, the Sooners will have a star as RB1 — a dynamic talent that was named an All-Pac-12 first-team selection as a sophomore after rushing for 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns. Ott, who was named to the Maxwell Award preseason watchlist, forms what’s expected to be one of the more dangerous duos nationally with quarterback John Mateer.
Former Cal and current Northwestern running backs coach Aristotle Thompson remembers when he recruited Ott out of high school; the plan was always for him to play three seasons for the Golden Bears.
Ott's original plan was to then move on to the NFL, but after being limited last season due to a Grade 3 high-ankle sprain and a Grade 1 knee sprain, he turned to the portal.
Some even thought Ott could’ve been a first-round pick in last year’s NFL Draft.
“Really, for him, it was about an opportunity to be great,” Thompson told The Oklahoman. “It doesn't matter what the jersey is. I have high respect for (offensive coordinator) Ben Arbuckle and (running backs coach) DeMarco Murray and what they do. Him making the decision to go to Oklahoma, those guys are great coaches, and I know some other players there who have fond outlooks on both of those guys.
“I’m always excited for Jaydn, thrilled to see him be around other people who are going to challenge and push him to be the best version of himself.”
If he was going to leave Cal, Ott wanted to transfer to either Georgia or OU. Ott wished to play in the SEC and prove he could hang with the best players, and he clicked with the Sooners almost immediately.
Ott saw Arbuckle and Mateer’s vision for rebuilding OU’s offense and he jumped at the opportunity.
“Getting to play with John Mateer,” Ott said of what separated OU. “They have something good going on; this offense is very familiar. I played against Arbuckle and his offense at (Washington State) when I was at Cal, and so I was familiar with what he has going on.”
Jaydn Ott says injuries last season at Cal were ‘mishandled’
Last season was especially tough for Ott.
Not only was he dealing with nagging injuries, which led to a dip in his production, but he believes more could have been done to help heal the ailments.
“Last year was a little bit mishandled,” Ott said. “I probably should have sat out a couple of weeks and been better off for the rest of the season. But my mindset was wanting to play and be there for my team, especially being a leader at Cal, I wanted to be there for my guys. But I definitely could have handled that a little differently, looking back.”
Ott was never 100% healthy after injuring his ankle in Cal’s season opener. But he pushed through, playing in 10 games and tallying 385 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
The good news for OU is Ott says his ankle is “doing great.”
“When the injury initially happened, it was tough, and he pushed through that game to finish the game,” Thompson said. “To see him battle, really, for the next four weeks with that injury, but continuing to try to play through it, showed a lot of resilience.
“We took some time off in the middle of the season last year, we said, ‘Hey, look, we're shutting you down. I need you to get back healthy and we'll see where we're at for the tail end of the season to make a run.’ We shut them down for about two games, maybe three games and a bye week, and he bounced back. He was still getting back into it.”
Following the injury issues, Ott was frustrated with himself. Due to his limitations, Ott struggled on the field and the Bears finished 6-7.
When he opted for a clean slate, Ott vowed to take the lessons he learned last season with him throughout the rest of his football career.
“It was a mix of my injury being misdiagnosed and a little bit of the communication not going the right way on staff,” Ott said. “I blame myself for not trusting my gut and listening to my body.”
OU football gained a ‘diligent’ running back in Jaydn Ott
Ben Arbuckle doesn’t reflect fondly on when his Washington State Cougars faced Cal and Ott in 2023.
Ott rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown and recorded a receiving touchdown en route to a Bears win over WSU, where Arbuckle called the offensive plays.
“I knew he was a talented kid,” Arbuckle said. “The eye test can pass that, but not knowing anything about the kid, he's an older kid. The thing that has impressed me the most about him is how diligent he is with his work and how intentional he is with everybody.”
A major aspect of that intentionality has been trying to get to know Mateer, Ott's new partner in crime, as best as possible.
The two are neighbors and have an ongoing competition where each night they see who can do 1,000 jump rope reps the fastest. Ott can do them in under six minutes. Mateer hasn’t quite hit that mark yet.
“We hang out a lot,” Ott said. “He's very competitive. He's sneaky athletic. I didn't expect him to be that athletic, but watching his film last year and seeing him work out in the building was surprising. And he's a great leader.”
Moving on from a place where he was a fan favorite for so long took a toll on Ott.
One Cal fan created a viral cover song, "Ott To Go" to the tune of "Hot to Go!" by Chappell Roan. Ott doesn’t expect the song to carry over to OU, but said he’s thankful for his time with the Bears.
Ott built strong relationships with coaches, teammates and fans but made the best decision for himself to grow as a football player.
“I'm expecting him to have the best season of his career this upcoming year,” Thompson said. “He's grown every way that he's been asked to grow, he continued in the mindset that we instilled years ago, and he knows what he wants. He knows the goals, he knows how to get there and the work doesn't stop just because he's at a different location."
The Chino, California, native has also embraced Oklahoma. Ott hasn’t made a trip to Braum’s yet, but he quickly became an Oklahoma City Thunder fan during the NBA Finals run this summer and describes himself as an NBA champ.
While he didn’t know much about OU’s tradition or Norman before, he’s learned a lot during his short time. One moment, specifically when he noticed OU was different, came while walking through Heisman Park and recognizing the great players who came before him.
Ott longed to show he was great. Heading into preseason camp, he’s confident he’s ventured to the right place.
“I don’t know how to put it nicely,” Ott said. “The biggest difference (between Cal and Oklahoma) is these guys care. I’m not saying that my former teammates at Cal don't care. But there are levels, and it shows.
“To see the history behind this place, it just makes me want to step my game up and keep the standard high.”
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why Jaydn Ott transferred to OU football to team up with John Mateer
Category: General Sports
