Oklahoma football underwent a significant makeover this offseason. Although the team struggled last season, it revamped its offense and brought Ben Arbuckle from Washington State. Arbuckle brought in John Mateer from the transfer portal and completely changed the running back room, which Jaydn Ott highlighted from Cal. However, Ott is currently dealing with a minor injury.
According to George Stoia III of SoonerScoop and On3 and then Parker Thune of Rivals and OU Insider, Ott has been kept out of practice due to a minor injury and has been doing rehab exercises on the side. According to Brent Venables, the Sooners did not specify the exact injury that Ott is dealing with, but it's expected that he will not miss much time and should be ready for Week 1.
“Minor (emphasis on MINOR) injuries to Jaydn Ott, Xavier Robinson, and Taylor Tatum,” Thune said via X. “All three were dressed at practice today doing various rehab exercises. The Sooners are naturally being quite cautious with their guys’ bumps and bruises after everything that happened last year.”
Ott transferred to the Oklahoma football team after starting his career at Cal. There is a big difference between Cal and Oklahoma, especially since Ott is also a California native. After talking to the media on Wednesday, he was brutally honest about the differences between the two programs.
“I don’t know how to put it nicely. The biggest difference is these guys care,” Ott said. “Not saying that my former teammates at Cal don’t care, but there are levels, and it shows in the way that guys treat their craft and how often they’re taking care of things outside the facility to be good within it.”
Ott had a fantastic season in 2023, with 1,305 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged 109.5 yards per game during his breakout season, which ranked ninth in the country.
He was supposed to be a difference-maker last season, but an ankle injury kept him out for two seasons and hampered his ability to duplicate that success in 2024. He only had 385 rushing yards and four touchdowns last season through 10 games.
Ott is also an excellent pass-catcher out of the backfield. Across his three seasons with Cal, he compiled 95 catches for 736 yards and six scores.
This is a make-or-break season for Brent Venables. The Sooners completely reworked their offense in the offseason, and the hope is that they finally have an offense that can compete in the SEC after being a punching bag last season.
