By Staying, Jaydn Ott Has Cemented His Legacy With Cal Fans

Pac-12 Network analyst Yogi Roth says the running back will always be viewed fondly by Old Blues.

Jaydn Ott with Fernando Mendoza at a Giants game / Photo by Darren Yamashita, USA Today

Jaydn Ott needs 1,156 yards next season to eclipse Russell White’s 32-year-old Cal career rushing record. But long-time Pac-12 Network analyst Yogi Roth says it’s not a record that cements Ott’s legacy with Cal fans.

Instead, it was six words Ott shared on a Twitter video that relieved fans — and his coaching staff — last Dec.15 after initially teasing them that he would be entering the transfer portal.

“Nah, I’m playing,” he said. “I’m gonna stay.”

In an era where players jump in and out of the transfer portal at a breakneck pace, Ott decided to remain at Cal for his junior season. If all goes well, we should expect he’ll jump to the NFL after next season.

But for now, Ott is a Golden Bear and Roth says that decision makes him a standout in this era.

“It sent reverberations,” Roth said, “not just through the Cal program, but across the country. Knowing what you and I know now and what the world is . . .”

Ott quite easily could have bolted for a bigger name program and greater NIL financial rewards. 

“Last year when I was calling Cal-Oregon and watching Cal throughout the season, I wondered, `What’s going to happen next year?’ “ Roth said “You’re just thinking realistically. You know the players that are leaving a lot of schools and you think, `Is there going to be a change?’ “

Ott later said he never seriously considered leaving Cal after his sophomore season, in which he rushed for 1,315 yards and scored 15 total touchdowns. He has 2,212 career rushing yards, which puts him well within striking distance of becoming just the six Cal back to reach 3,000 yards.

But when Ott announced on social media — at least for a moment — that was he leaving, Old Blues died a little. Coach Justin Wilcox admitted it wasn’t he way he’d have preferred to get the news.

Roth loved it.

“He got me, and I’d imagine thousands of others, when he put out that tweet that is easily one of my favorite things on social media — you can probably count all of those on one hand, he said. “It was beautiful to watch. I love it when those players make a commitment and sticking with it.”

Roth says Ott may not even fully understand the benefits he’ll enjoy because he stayed at the place he started. 

When he talks to current players, Roth often asks if they’re creating a logo for their personal brand. About 70 percent say yes.

“And I say, `Stop. My advice to you would be to leverage the logo that’s on your helmet or on your jersey,’ “ he explained. “Because even Tom Brady isn’t bigger than Michigan. And if anybody was, it would be him. So for Jaydn Ott, leveraging this Cal brand . . . look what it’s done for so many great ones that have come before him.”

Roth played football at Pitt and he recalled Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison leaving the Panthers in favor of USC before the 2022 season. 

“I don’t blame him for leaving. He was at SC for less than a calendar year — had a really good season, was a first-round draft pick,” Roth said. “But didn’t win the Biletnikoff, wasn’t All-American. They’d didn’t go to CFP. And there’s another great receiver coming through the pipeline every year at USC.”

But Addison’s place in the hearts of Pitt fans no doubt was altered by his decision leave. And Roth sees so many players making the same move, without regard for all of the consequences.

“The reality is if you throw down on your school, the school will give back to you in ways you are not prepared for or may not expect when you’re in college or early in your NFL career,” he said.

“I worry now that in the transfer portal, players will not have a place to call home. They will always be loved by that football staff that got them in the portal. But as staffs change and time goes on, you don’t get forgotten but you just kind of fall back, you fade away a bit. 

“And Jaydn Ott will not fade away, based on the decision he made. I’m really happy for him and the Cal community to be able to put that guy up on a pedestal, and one that he’s earned.”