Welcome to the death of college football. In comes the semi-professional Big Four. Everyone else might as well go the Ivy route. I'm completely disgusted and ready to let Cal go FCS and end our long national nightmare. 🤬
I just canceled my Write for California monthly subscription due to this transfer nonsense.
The site is great but I no longer want to be apart of this roller coaster annual ride of players coming and going.
Without long term college contracts and a salary cap college sports will be akin to MLB type scenario like the Yankees and Dodgers lineups. Schools with lower NIL money will seldom of ever have a reasonable chance to win and players will bounce to new schools.
Who wants to root for teams that constantly change players and have no chance to win? Isn't the reason we watch sports in large part is the hope for our team to win and follow the progress of our favorite players?
The transfer portal has ruined all of the hope for smaller budget schools to win and fans to enjoy their favorite players.
Maybe if enough fans complain and stop watching sports the current system will change. In the meantime walking my dogs at the beach, tracking crypto currency, and reading will take preference over college sports.
I get that you're fed up with the state of college football, but I'm not sure why you take it out on Write For California. W4C is one of the promising, inspiring, bright spots in our Bear community. I would urge you to reconsider.
But there are other fanbases that have gone through far more apocalyptic meltdowns and come out stronger because they doubled down and made their commitment stronger.
I feel your pain. The system is broken, and we, the fans, are suffering. It hurts to see some of our best players leaving. At the very least, it would be nice to have some stability. Here is the team; they are staying and they are excited to represent Cal. Then we can rally around them. But just when you get excited, realizing we have an amazing running back room - BAM. oh well GO BEARS!!!
Cryptic tweets about the state of the program. Honestly can’t blame him - there is zero reason to play for Justin Wilcox as an offensive player with designs on getting drafted.
I was shocked Ott came back after the dumpster fire that our offense was last season. I suppose Ott wanted to give Wilcox and the new offensive staff a chance and perhaps what he saw during spring ball was just more of the same offensive ineptitude at OL and decided to get the bag and a chance to play for a team with a competent offense where he has a chance to get drafted.
What GoldenSD81 said. It is clear the Cal football program is no bueno if Ott and Endries both leave the program after spring practice. Best of luck to them. For the GBs, we have another crappy year at 4-8 or-5-7, JW is fired, and the rebuild begins again in 2026. If realignment comes again in 2026 or 27, Cal (and Furd) could become Junior members of the PAC-whatever / Mountain West. Or worse, be left out of ALL relevant FBS conferences. This is bleak...
Real bleak. There is little chance that Cal becomes a part of any SEC/B1G-driven super-conference, especially now that academics have been neutered. We’ll likely be relegated to some West Coast regional league with Wazzu, Oregon St., SDSU, Fresno, etc.
It is over. At a time when Cal needed dynamic, decisive leadership we got Dirks, Christ, Mike Williams and Jim f-ing Knowlton. In retrospect, the Department never stood a chance.
After spring practice Ott and Endries and soon, others saw the mistake Harsin is. His spread, pass oriented offense leaves TE's and RB's as secondary options in the offense.
Refresh my shattered memory of the bet? I believe I said Wilcox will be back and you said he would be gone? I still think Wilcox, finds his way back as our HC for the 2026 season.
It's always been hard being a Cal football fan, what with unmet expectations and decades of mediocrity or worse. Now, it's impossible. College football is broken, as is Cal football under Wilcox.
I can. Nothing about Wilcox has changed since January. Make a decision and move on. Don’t leave the program, your teammates, and the fans in a lurch while you yo-yo week-to-week.
F!@#. I was just talking with a Cal buddy at dinner Saturday night about all the changes like this. College football as we knew it is dead. It so hard to be a supportive fan, when it's mostly about the money. Will we ever have the legacies like Marshawn, Rivera, Roth, Rodgers, Kapp ever again?
Sounds like the last person to talk to Jadyn, gets him to change his mind. Ott has a history of being swayed, from high school (commit to decommit to commit) and the various off seasons where he has flirted with transferring on a couple of different occasions. This time, Oklahoma got in his ear and he was leaving, then the Cal collective got to him and he got a raise and he was staying, then Oklahoma got to him again and pushed the "you're stagnating at Cal, you need a fresh start" narrative and he enters the portal and the Cal collective is again working with him and this morning his profile pic is back to Cal colors. No doubt this will flip back and forth several more times...
The great thing about Dwinelle, is you don’t need to even lock the doors to keep people inside, just put them in the middle of it and watch them get lost.
The stagnation theme seems like an ego defense for a disappointing, while injured, year last year. Jaydn might want to consider a new version of an old saying, "A Bear in hand is worth two in Oklahoma."
Can you give me the complete list of NFL guys who played offense under Wilcox? Offensive players at Cal, while playing under Wilcox do not get drafted to the NFL or have a career in the NFL.
Admittedly I was thinking defense, but we've got some O-linemen in the league and Wilcox has recruited some current and future NFL'ers on offense (some who left or are leaving - not because of Wilcox but for NIL $), but yes the cupboard is a bit lighter on the offensive side.
I am glad Rivera is here, however this may have been Rivera inspired. In the NFL running back is a position that is not valued. This is Rivers’s experience, so it’s possible he is choosing to spend money in areas other than Ott and let him depart.
I'd say it's more likely that Ott and Endries saw Rivera being brought in, given no actual power, the donors revolting over the University's inaction, and thought this was maybe not the place to be anymore.
That won't change the portal. Only some sort of cap on the money that can be offered will. Or, get rid of the f'n portal all together and bring back the time when if you transferred you had to sit out a year.
This is a total shame. Even though, He didn't have a great year LY due to OL play and being injured and it seemed a bright future this coming year. The other thing that will hurt is that once He joins the NFL He will be announced Jaydn Ott from school X instead from Cal. Where He would have joined the likes of Muncie, White, Best , Lynch and all the other backs that were part of the NFL. Good Luck Jaydn wherever you go and thanks for staying LY when everybody thought you would have left when We lost Mendoza. Become that top 5 running back that We all know you can be and possibly a Heisman candidate.
It is time for Rivera, Wilcox and the rest of the upper elechlon to put their big boy pants on before We end up losing more quality players to the portal.
And... you're thanking him for sticking around for a few months then bailing? It's smart for him to take the money, but let's not canonize him on the way out the door.
That was my point of putting their pants on. Where is the money?. It is fine if We don't have matching $$$ and it'is smart for him to take the money elsewhere. He stuck around for a full year and played with his heart on his sleeve. Wilcox didn't use him to his ability and the injuries didn't help. The fan base was begging him to stay LY and He did. We were grateful at the time but it didn't pan out. The pundits felt He was a top talent when the year began . If, He is healthy this year and goes to a school that utilize him properly with an OL He will have a very productive year. Not canonizing Him but, We will regret and miss him this upcoming year
podcasted about it if anyone wants to listen. i know its a tough day for many
https://bleav.com/shows/bleav-in-cal-football/
Thanks TD!!
Welcome to the death of college football. In comes the semi-professional Big Four. Everyone else might as well go the Ivy route. I'm completely disgusted and ready to let Cal go FCS and end our long national nightmare. 🤬
I just canceled my Write for California monthly subscription due to this transfer nonsense.
The site is great but I no longer want to be apart of this roller coaster annual ride of players coming and going.
Without long term college contracts and a salary cap college sports will be akin to MLB type scenario like the Yankees and Dodgers lineups. Schools with lower NIL money will seldom of ever have a reasonable chance to win and players will bounce to new schools.
Who wants to root for teams that constantly change players and have no chance to win? Isn't the reason we watch sports in large part is the hope for our team to win and follow the progress of our favorite players?
The transfer portal has ruined all of the hope for smaller budget schools to win and fans to enjoy their favorite players.
Maybe if enough fans complain and stop watching sports the current system will change. In the meantime walking my dogs at the beach, tracking crypto currency, and reading will take preference over college sports.
I get that you're fed up with the state of college football, but I'm not sure why you take it out on Write For California. W4C is one of the promising, inspiring, bright spots in our Bear community. I would urge you to reconsider.
I am not taking it out on anyone. I simply not planning on following college sports this fall and paying for any related service.
As you wish and will.
But there are other fanbases that have gone through far more apocalyptic meltdowns and come out stronger because they doubled down and made their commitment stronger.
You make a great point. I am taking a break but no just means not now!
It's worse than MLB, because at least in MLB you don't have every player on a one-year contract every year. There's some expectation of stability.
I feel your pain. The system is broken, and we, the fans, are suffering. It hurts to see some of our best players leaving. At the very least, it would be nice to have some stability. Here is the team; they are staying and they are excited to represent Cal. Then we can rally around them. But just when you get excited, realizing we have an amazing running back room - BAM. oh well GO BEARS!!!
Agreed
Endries was a gut punch. This is a haymaker to the dome. Sigh.
Endries was straight up.
Ott is like Mendoza - taking shots on the way out the door.
Ott was/is taking shots out the door?
This is a kick in the gut…
Cryptic tweets about the state of the program. Honestly can’t blame him - there is zero reason to play for Justin Wilcox as an offensive player with designs on getting drafted.
I was shocked Ott came back after the dumpster fire that our offense was last season. I suppose Ott wanted to give Wilcox and the new offensive staff a chance and perhaps what he saw during spring ball was just more of the same offensive ineptitude at OL and decided to get the bag and a chance to play for a team with a competent offense where he has a chance to get drafted.
What GoldenSD81 said. It is clear the Cal football program is no bueno if Ott and Endries both leave the program after spring practice. Best of luck to them. For the GBs, we have another crappy year at 4-8 or-5-7, JW is fired, and the rebuild begins again in 2026. If realignment comes again in 2026 or 27, Cal (and Furd) could become Junior members of the PAC-whatever / Mountain West. Or worse, be left out of ALL relevant FBS conferences. This is bleak...
Real bleak. There is little chance that Cal becomes a part of any SEC/B1G-driven super-conference, especially now that academics have been neutered. We’ll likely be relegated to some West Coast regional league with Wazzu, Oregon St., SDSU, Fresno, etc.
It is over. At a time when Cal needed dynamic, decisive leadership we got Dirks, Christ, Mike Williams and Jim f-ing Knowlton. In retrospect, the Department never stood a chance.
After spring practice Ott and Endries and soon, others saw the mistake Harsin is. His spread, pass oriented offense leaves TE's and RB's as secondary options in the offense.
Should I make our reservations at Jake’s Del Mar now? ;-)
Refresh my shattered memory of the bet? I believe I said Wilcox will be back and you said he would be gone? I still think Wilcox, finds his way back as our HC for the 2026 season.
It's always been hard being a Cal football fan, what with unmet expectations and decades of mediocrity or worse. Now, it's impossible. College football is broken, as is Cal football under Wilcox.
I don’t think that’s a done deal by any stretch.
Can’t blame him.
Another year of Wilcox, another bland year of mediocrity.
He needs to go somewhere with an actual offensive line.
This is 100% a Wilcox problem.
The absolute wrong HC to have through this time in Cal’s history. Golly-shucks guys that don’t win are useless in this NIL/portal era.
Wilcox is the right man at the right time for Cal. We were never going to be 12-0, our players have to attend class.
I can. Nothing about Wilcox has changed since January. Make a decision and move on. Don’t leave the program, your teammates, and the fans in a lurch while you yo-yo week-to-week.
Fuck this shit
To be a Cal football fan means that you will constantly be kicked in the nuts for all eternity. I sure didn't see this one coming.
Not after he re-committed last week when Oklahoma tampered with him during Spring camp.
And that tampering didn't get them in trouble? I thought it was illegal.
There’s no enforcement arm. The NCAA is toothless now that college sports have gone professional.
It's simple and it starts with the top of the food chain, Fire Jim Knowlton into the sun.
F!@#. I was just talking with a Cal buddy at dinner Saturday night about all the changes like this. College football as we knew it is dead. It so hard to be a supportive fan, when it's mostly about the money. Will we ever have the legacies like Marshawn, Rivera, Roth, Rodgers, Kapp ever again?
Sounds like the last person to talk to Jadyn, gets him to change his mind. Ott has a history of being swayed, from high school (commit to decommit to commit) and the various off seasons where he has flirted with transferring on a couple of different occasions. This time, Oklahoma got in his ear and he was leaving, then the Cal collective got to him and he got a raise and he was staying, then Oklahoma got to him again and pushed the "you're stagnating at Cal, you need a fresh start" narrative and he enters the portal and the Cal collective is again working with him and this morning his profile pic is back to Cal colors. No doubt this will flip back and forth several more times...
All allegedly, of course
Lock him up in Dwinelle and never let an outsider talk to him
The great thing about Dwinelle, is you don’t need to even lock the doors to keep people inside, just put them in the middle of it and watch them get lost.
Good/Bad news.
The stagnation theme seems like an ego defense for a disappointing, while injured, year last year. Jaydn might want to consider a new version of an old saying, "A Bear in hand is worth two in Oklahoma."
I mean, Wilcox’s entire tenure is the embodiment of stagnation, no?
Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Cal is completely happy with abject mediocrity. Certainly an OU booster can figure it out! Ha.
Fantastic.
Guys with NFL futures don’t want to play for WIlcox.
Wrong - if the NIL is right, they'll play for the football version of Wyking Jones or Mark Fox or whoever the worst football coach in history is.
And you may want to ask all of the current NFL guys who did play for Wilcox why they played for him if they didn't want to.
Can you give me the complete list of NFL guys who played offense under Wilcox? Offensive players at Cal, while playing under Wilcox do not get drafted to the NFL or have a career in the NFL.
Admittedly I was thinking defense, but we've got some O-linemen in the league and Wilcox has recruited some current and future NFL'ers on offense (some who left or are leaving - not because of Wilcox but for NIL $), but yes the cupboard is a bit lighter on the offensive side.
Ron Rivera save us. This incompetence is killing my love for Cal sports
I am glad Rivera is here, however this may have been Rivera inspired. In the NFL running back is a position that is not valued. This is Rivers’s experience, so it’s possible he is choosing to spend money in areas other than Ott and let him depart.
I'd say it's more likely that Ott and Endries saw Rivera being brought in, given no actual power, the donors revolting over the University's inaction, and thought this was maybe not the place to be anymore.
waaaa?
And perhaps colleges are valuing RBs more than the NFL. Its a brutal position and Ott knows this well. Better cash in while your ticket is hot.
Hopefully this will be the last year that Wilcox is at Cal.
That won't change the portal. Only some sort of cap on the money that can be offered will. Or, get rid of the f'n portal all together and bring back the time when if you transferred you had to sit out a year.
The last glimmer of hope is a change in leadership STAT.
There were a lot of changes, and that prompts departures. Wholesale change prompts wholesale departures.
I would be more bothered, but I had kind of assumed all year he would declare for the draft and be gone
This is a total shame. Even though, He didn't have a great year LY due to OL play and being injured and it seemed a bright future this coming year. The other thing that will hurt is that once He joins the NFL He will be announced Jaydn Ott from school X instead from Cal. Where He would have joined the likes of Muncie, White, Best , Lynch and all the other backs that were part of the NFL. Good Luck Jaydn wherever you go and thanks for staying LY when everybody thought you would have left when We lost Mendoza. Become that top 5 running back that We all know you can be and possibly a Heisman candidate.
It is time for Rivera, Wilcox and the rest of the upper elechlon to put their big boy pants on before We end up losing more quality players to the portal.
Sadly, Ott is not an NFL back. Too prone to injury.
IMHO, one injury does not make him "prone".
I seem to remember it being a shoestring tackle that messed him up in the Davis game. But he's taken some hard hits and bounce back, otherwise.
Only if their pants are made of money.
And... you're thanking him for sticking around for a few months then bailing? It's smart for him to take the money, but let's not canonize him on the way out the door.
That was my point of putting their pants on. Where is the money?. It is fine if We don't have matching $$$ and it'is smart for him to take the money elsewhere. He stuck around for a full year and played with his heart on his sleeve. Wilcox didn't use him to his ability and the injuries didn't help. The fan base was begging him to stay LY and He did. We were grateful at the time but it didn't pan out. The pundits felt He was a top talent when the year began . If, He is healthy this year and goes to a school that utilize him properly with an OL He will have a very productive year. Not canonizing Him but, We will regret and miss him this upcoming year
I agree, we'll miss him.
WTAF?