Cal Running Back Jaydn Ott Returns for Pro Day, Reflects On Journey To and From Berkeley
The Cal alum reached out himself to come back, and had nothing but gratitude for the program that developed him.
Jaydn Ott made clear from the jump that returning to Memorial Stadium for Pro Day meant something beyond just the workout.
“Thank you to Coach Rivera and Coach Tosh for letting me come through. It means a lot. I am an alumni of the school and so it’s good to be back, see a lot of my old teammates and be around the building with the guys.”
Being back on the field brought a familiar feeling.
“It was nostalgic, man. Looking up onto the hill and feeling the sun on me on this field. It was great.”
Ott had already done Oklahoma’s Pro Day the week prior, but came back to Cal specifically to improve on two drills where he felt he’d left something on the table.
“During training I was hitting a lot better numbers on my three cone and my 5-10-5, and so I wasn’t happy with it. I came out here and tried to work on that.”
The effort paid off.
“We got about two-tenths of a second better.”
He also got some throws in with current Cal quarterback Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele.
“I got to play with him a little bit during spring ball in 2025 and it was just cool. Throwing with Jaron is always fun.”
On his 40 time, Ott thought the fastest reading didn’t quite get the headlines.
“I think it was faster. You get a range of times from all the NFL teams and I guess the 4.46 is what stuck. They were saying like 4.40 to 4.45 and stuff, so got to round down.”
A recent meal with head coach Tosh Lupoi left Ott encouraged about where the program is headed.
“I’m excited for the whole team, man. I think he’s going to be really good for the culture, for the team around here. He’s going to take a big stride this year and even more so in the next.”
On his own draft prospects, Ott kept it grounded.
“I’m putting it all in God’s hands. If I do, I do. If not, man, it’s all good.”
He did feel the All-Star games helped his case.
“Most definitely. I got to show off my pass protection skills that I’ve been working on.”
Ott reached out to Cal himself to make this Pro Day happen, a reflection of the relationships he still holds here.
“I’m still really close with a lot of the people here, especially on the staff. These guys took care of me and I’m in constant communication with them anyway. I just decided, hey, let me reach out and see if I can get better numbers in those two drills and do some position work.”
His year at Oklahoma was a learning experience, even if things didn’t go as planned.
“Being in Oklahoma, it was cool, it was different. I was raised in California, stayed here pretty much my whole life, so it was cool to experience something else for a change. Things didn’t go as expected but I learned a lot through it all and it was good to be back out here.”
To the Cal fans who followed his journey and welcomed him back, Ott had a genuine message.
“I appreciate Coach Tosh and Coach Rivera and all the coaches welcoming me back, and especially the staff. Norm [Mo], Denis [Hallin], Andrew [McGraw], seeing all my people. To the fans, I’m just happy to be back. I appreciate all the support. Even when I left, there was a lot of support from Cal fans and it doesn’t go unnoticed. It means a lot.”
And if his name gets called on Sunday night, there’s no question which school he’ll be representing.
“I would definitely say Cal. I’m an alum here.”