Cal RB Jaydn Ott Expected to Play Against Idaho

Justin Wilcox confirms Sam Jackson V will start at quarterback Saturday and 'anticipates' Ott will be OK to play

Cal coach Justin Wilcox provided some optimistic news on Tuesday regarding the status of Bears running back Jaydn Ott.

Simply put, Ott is expected to play against Idaho in Saturday afternoon's game in Berkeley. 

Wilcox also confirmed that Sam Jackson V would be the Bears' starting quarterback on Saturday. That comes as no surprise since Jackson was more effective than Ben Finley against Auburn, plus Jackson has now had time to recover completely from the injury to left arm.

The status of Ott was less certain based on the fall he took this past Saturday that sidelined him the rest of the game.  But it appears he'll be ready to go on Saturday. 

When asked whether Ott will play against Idaho, Wilcox said this:

"We're anticipating that. He's day-to-day right now, but we're anticipating that."

Asked how Ott is feeling, Wilcox said this:

"He said he felt great today."

Ott is listed as Cal's starting tailback on the depth chart the Bears released this week, so unless there is an unexpected setback, Ott should be good to go on Saturday.

Ott is a vital part of the Bears' offense.  He rushed for 188 yards in the season-opening 58-21 victory over North Texas, and he ran for 78 yards before suffering his injury in the third quarter of the 14-10 loss to Auburn this past Saturday.

Ott's injury occurred when he tried to hurdle linebacker Eugene Asante and was upended, landing on his back. He stayed down for several minutes before walking off under his own power.  He did not return to the game.

Wilcox and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital both said they'd prefer their players not try to hurdle over defenders, but stay on the ground.

“We don’t coach them to leave their feet like that,” Wilcox said. “Once in a while guys will make a play jumping over somebody. It kind of gets oohs and aahs but we don’t coach that technique.

“Jaydn is always a guy that’s going to try to make a play, but generally speaking leaving your feet, especially against good players, doesn’t end great. So we’ve got to learn from that one.”

Spavital suggested the play was in keeping with how things went awry offensively all game for the Bears a week after they scored 58 points against North Texas.

“When he went up in the air it just kind of summarized our entire night,” Spavital said. “It was unfortunate. We’ve talked to him a lot about not jumping and hurdling because of what can happen, and what did happen.”

Isaiah Ifanse and Ashton Stredick shared time at the tailback spot after Ott was injured.

Ifanse acknowledged the play and its aftermath “was tough to watch.”

“He’s a phenomenal athlete,” Ifanse said. “I knew he has the ability to hurdle over people — we saw it in the North Texas game. When anyone lands like that you alway kind of just say a prayer and hope for the best for them.”

Cal will need all its weapons against Idaho, which is an FCS team but is 2-0, including a 33-6 road win over Nevada of the Mountain West Conference this past Saturday in Reno, Nevada. 

Idaho coach Jason Eck expects to see Ott on Saturday.

“Jaydn Ott, may be the best player we’ve played against so far,” Eck said. “He’s a really dynamic runner, great with the ball in his hands.”

Cover photo of Jaydn Ott by Neville E. Guard, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.