Fans are on edge during transfer portal season, especially due to the modern rules that enable star athletes to immediately switch programs. California football running back Jaydn Ott is using all of that paranoia to his advantage.

The sophomore and First-Team All-Pac-12 selection posted a black-and-white video of what initially appeared to be a heartfelt goodbye to the Golden Bears community. He even captioned the message with a broken heart emoji to really brace fans for the worst. Ott thanked everyone, announced his decision to enter the portal and walked out of the camera's vision.

He then popped back in and delivered the gotcha moment. “Nah I'm playing, I'm for the state,” the Chino, California native said as color filled the video. Berkeley can exhale, relax and refrain from throwing a tantrum. Their best offensive player is staying put.

Ott's fakeout was creatively executed, but he visibly struggles to keep a straight face. One could mistake the whole announcement for a late-1990s Saturday Night Live sketch featuring perpetual-gigglers Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz. Even so, there were sure to be plenty of stressed-out students all across campus.

Jaydn Ott rushed for 1,260 yards (5.5 per carry) and 11 touchdowns in his second year with Golden Bears, most notably torching USC for three scores in an October thriller. His tremendous efforts helped California football earn a 6-6 record, their best since 2019, and a Dec. 16 meeting with Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl.

Jokes aside, Ott's return should be celebrated. Continuing an upward trajectory without him feels downright implausible.