Ott Returns to the Fold For Bears on Signing Day
4 star Norco (Norco, CA) High School RB Jaydn Ott -once a Cal commit before backing off during the season- rejoined the Bears’ 2022 class officially, signing a national letter of intent at a ceremony on campus this afternoon.
The 6-0/210 former Oregon commit completes a talented Cal backfield class for 2022, joining fellow running back commit Ashton Hayes to form a talented tandem after taking no running backs in 2021.
Besides Cal and Oregon, the Bishop Gorman RB had offers from Georgia, Nebraska, Purdue, USC, UCLA, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, OSU and more. Ott is rated a 4 stars (5.8) and the #14 RB in the nation with Rivals, 4 stars (91) and #25 back overall with 247 and 4 stars (80) with ESPN.
Ott and his family took an official visit over the summer and it was a hit with him, his mom and siblings.
“It was a great first experience,” said Ott after the visit. “That was my first official visit. I really enjoyed myself on that trip. Everyone there was really personable there. They kept everything real with me. Akili Calhoun was my host. He was cool.”
The talented RB brought along his whole family, including his four sisters and mom.
“They loved it there,” said Ott. “I don’t plan on taking any trips without them.”
On the trip, Ott also had the opportunity to get a good feel for what student life would be like at Cal.
“The trip wasn’t just all about football,” noted Ott. “We did a lot of meetings about life after ball and school and setting up gameplans for both school and football. It was like 50/50 -50% football and 50% life after ball.
“The showed my how they have over 315 subjects you can study and they went over different options I’d have if I had any interest or additional things I might want to consider if I was interested in certain subjects. That was pretty cool.”
As a freshman, Ott ran for over 1,000 yards and 13 tds on varsity with Norco High School in SoCal before moving to Las Vegas his soph season. Ott moved back to Norco his senior season, rushing for 1140 yards and 17 touchdowns on 114 carries for a 10 yards per carr average, adding 11 receptions for 154 yards, as well.
Ott’s connection with Cal running backs coach Aristotle Thompson and the current Cal players was also a draw for the speedy RB, originally from the Pomona area.
“Coach AT’s cool,” said Ott. “We have the SoCal connection and we get along really well. We have really good chemistry.
“The players were really cool, too. It felt like I was already on the team. They treated me well.”
Ott’s signing today along with Florida OT Trent Ramsey brings the Bears’ 2022 class to 13 currently. Look for the program to add another estimated 3-5 players through late period signees and portal transfers to round out the class.
Related:
Bears Kick Off 2021 Early Signing Day