No it's not. It's only a sad day for Ott, and for college football. Ott never did for us what any of our great backs did for us. We move on. If he'd rather be in the hell hole fly over nothing of OK, then so be it. I've spent time in OK, have family there, I know the place. Wouldn't wish it on anyone. We have great offensive coaches, and whoever suits up for the Bears, like Jet or Wiley or others, to carry the rock, will hear me screaming for them. Go Bears!
Guy was absolutely the face of the program, but Jet is the better back for this team because surprise surprise Wilcox has failed to assemble a competent OL and while Ott’s vision and patience will benefit him at the next level, it’s a negative in Berkeley where holes need to be hit quicker. Social media is pointing to that fact as the reason for the stagnation comment. Still hoping Famika can coach them up and forge a competent OL, but at the end of the day Justin Wilcox is simply horrible at his job.
Also, while Mendoza and Ott both have reasons for transferring given Wilcox’s staggering failures with the offensive side of the ball, they nonetheless BOTH did the program dirty on the way out…Ott especially - he has had a foot out the door and held Cal up for money when he was apparently always leaving with the degree to be coached by DeMarco Murray in Norman.
It’s certainly 100% a problem for Men’s Basketball, Ken.
But football has a rather competitive NIL budget, at least commensurate with similar programs…not Ohio State or Notre Dame, of course, and we can always have more…but word is both Ott and Mendoza left for non-monetary reasons, as the money was comparable.
When you say competitive with whom? Do we have any data on Cal's NIL for football. The top programs are now at $20+ million. I cannot believe Cal is close to that. But I am curious to find out - even a range would be helpful.
We have plenty of money. With Ott it has to do with the program, his position coach leavng and some other things. He also has a history since before coming to Cal of flip flopping, it's in his nature.
Honestly, I am sadder about Endries than Ott. Last year he was a 1 million dollar gimp decoy. Would love to have seen him regain his old form, but that was a gamble. I never thought Ott was an every-down back and definitely not a between the tackles guy; and I don't think an RPO suited his talents. In space, dude is dangerous, for sure. Probably would be better as a third down specialist or returner (IMO).
Take the money and go buy a couple more stud OL or DL guys. Let Oklahoma overpay for him.
Totally agree. Love Ott but we need to spend our limited NIL dollars on the OL. These stories all focus on his 23 numbers, but ignore his poor 24 where he was clearly outplayed by Jet. I get it that he was injured, but this is football, there are dozens of injury-inducing, brain-scrambling, high speed collisions on every single play. If you can’t play through injury, you can’t really play
His numbers also went down last season due to his season opening ankle injury. Had we blown out UC Davis and controlled that game during the first half, Ott isn’t needed to play in the second and he doesn’t get injured.
Who can fault a player for taking the opportunity to earn more money, play for a better team, (with a better offensive line), and play in perhaps the top conference in all of college football. Playing a top 25 team almost every week, with more opportunities for national TV exposure. OU averages over 80,000 attendance per home game. Yes college sports have changed, much for the better for the athletes, in any case. The courts have spoken and the NCAA has been behind the curve and paid the price. Cal is also behind the curve to the new ground rules and has paid the price of not being invited to join the more lucrative Big Ten. Instead taking a life line from the ACC at a greatly reduced revenue share. Its not on the players, it is on the Chancellor, AD and alumni to chart the course forward for Cal athletics. Unless we can come up more attendance at games, more TV viewers for revenue sharing, and more alumni funding, the coaches will be doing a good job if they can get a 500 record during the season. Thanks for memories Jayden Ott. Good luck at OU.
Counterpoint, don….Oklahoma is a better name - they're not necessarily a better team away from the Big 12. The Stoops/Riley era is over, the O is a mess, as is the OL compared to other SEC clubs…and Venables probably doesn’t last the year, given their schedule. (Auburn, Bama, Tennessee, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, plus Michigan in the noncon). It’s a puzzling move but consistent given how much they have tampered with him the past year.
Not to mention the chances of Ott, who has fought injuries his entire career at Cal, making it through a full season unscathed, taking the pounding he is expected to take, are slim.
So there’s transferring, and then there is threatening to leave to leverage more $$$ into a better offer elsewhere, despite re-committing to Cal….as he did last week. It’s a chickenschitt move, made worse by the fact that he threw the program under the bus on his way out. No one disputes that Wilcox’s track record for getting offensive players into the NFL is nonexistent, but Ott’s behavior through all of this was nonetheless bush league.
Hi Jimmy - I generally agree with your posts. But let's give Ott credit for staying at Cal for three years. He could have bolted after two years, certainly for more money. The flood gates seem to be opening on Cal FB just now, losing Ott, Endries and others into the spring portal. Why do you think it is so? Lack of funding for NIL for top players? Public spat between the AD and big donors? Revolt against new coaches? I do know this much, if Cal wants to recruit and retain top players they need to get their act together and soon. We have now lost our starting QB, WRs, TE and RB. It cannot be on all the players. All those players going to the SEC or Big Ten, by the way. The rich get richer. Cal's leadership has to look itself the mirror and make needed changes if they want to compete at the top levels of the ACC - forget the SEC and BIG Ten. Just continuing down the same path is not going to cut it. I think we all know that at this point.
Ha, everyone knows it. My point is not all transfers are the same, backstory and all.
I don’t begrudge anyone for leaving, in this day and age, and given where you know I stand on Wilcox and Knowlton, it is definitely not all on the players. Nothing is changing in this program until Wilcox and Knowlton are gone.
But leaving the way Ott and Mendoza, two guys that were potential all-time great Cal Bears, have both done, reflects incredibly poorly on both. You can be grateful we had Ott for 3 years…but like Mendoza, torching the program on your way out the door is not a classy move, and neither is dealing in bad faith, as he did.
Agree with Jimmy. Look, no one is saying you are not free to leave for more money, but if you do leave and especially if you leave and trash the school, then we as fans are certainly free to dislike you for doing so. That is just the existential burden the player bears. We have no moral or logical obligation to let them off the hook.
Plus, while there are some donors writing big checks to the football program, there are also fans like us that are donating what they can to the CALegends…and that money is going to the players too, which honestly gives the fanbase more skin in the game than previously.
Not to mention the rumor on the socials is that he had already signed with Oklahoma before Saturday’s Spring showcase…that’s some dirty stuff because it’s against NCAA rules, for whatever that’s worth..
How quickly we forget, our best WR, Nyziah Hunter off to Nebraska. That was a big loss. And then Josiah Martin, who was showing strong potential, going to OU, before Ott. The loss of WR Coach Toler, who was arguably Cal's best recruiter, was a blow.
Stop clutching the pearls with all the “death of college football” nonsense. He graduated from Cal in 3 years (which of you did that?), wants to play pro football, and did a grad transfer to a better program. I’m sure he’s getting more NIL money — good for him, because he didn’t look like an NFL prospect in limited time last year, and running behind our line this year isn’t going to make it any better. You know who else got some NIL money? Teddye Buchanan and every other transfer we grab from a smaller football program. Yes, it sucks that we are part of the P4 minor leagues, but you can blame Knowlton, the athletic dept and our ridiculous limits on non-qualifiers for that.
Coyote32 is right. Jalen Hurts left Alabama for Oklahoma after graduating and I think that decision turned out to be a good one for him and his NFL future. Good luck, Jaydn. Sorry things didn't go better at the end but since you graduated, you will be a Golden Bear for life. Just make sure that you say you went to Cal during introductions on Sunday and Monday Night Football.
My reading of the blowback is more about how he went about it, not the decision itself. I think it’s fair to be critical about that. He’s a smart guy and there is plenty of examples of what works and what doesn’t.
Something has to be done about the current state of college football. These guys all have agents now, but we don’t have contracts, so they can renegotiate or jump ship at any time. This is a better deal than any pro league has.
Non-athletes can transfer at will, not sure what the reason would be to impose limits on athletes. I think we just need to get used to it. Way more news to blog and comment about dudes!
Was anyone else around in 1976 when the Joe Roth led Golden Bears had an away game vs. Oklahoma. The Daily Cal writer described Norman Oklahoma as "The armpit of America". It's a line I'll never forget, and it stirred up quite a controversy. BTW, the Bears lost 28-17.
I was. That's the year the Bears had a brutal non-conference schedule. They opened the season on the road against Georgia, Oklahoma and Arizona State (this was back in the Pac-8 days).
Mendoza and Ott, though bereft of class in their departures, remain symptoms of the disease.
The larger issue remains Justin Wilcox and Jim Knowlton’s continued employment by the University of California, Berkeley. When the local press, and subsequently major news outlets, are reporting on donors refusing to fund the biggest revenue-generating program in your department in its current leadership configuration, you have a catastrophic problem on your hands…one that does not get fixed with a 6 or 7 win season and low-level bowl that said-staff subsequently treats as a scrimmage.
Jaydn, thank you for the 3 years you dedicated to the CAL community. You’re already a legend. You’re clearly a rare talent but it was also clear that you’re a tremendous teammate. You didn’t sulk or make it about you when your injury prevented you from dominating or even being on the field. You were always the same positive and supportive teammate on the sidelines. I noticed that and really appreciated your focus and love for your teammates. Oklahoma is so damn lucky. I’m no sooners fan, but I’ll always be a massive Jaydn Ott supporter NMW. Good luck and THANK YOU
The "jet" Javian Thomas is better any way. I don't think the running game will suffer with his loss.The great Cal coach Pappy Waldorf once quoted that "running backs were a dime a dozen, but good linemen are worth hundreds more".
No it's not. It's only a sad day for Ott, and for college football. Ott never did for us what any of our great backs did for us. We move on. If he'd rather be in the hell hole fly over nothing of OK, then so be it. I've spent time in OK, have family there, I know the place. Wouldn't wish it on anyone. We have great offensive coaches, and whoever suits up for the Bears, like Jet or Wiley or others, to carry the rock, will hear me screaming for them. Go Bears!
And time to reload! To the portal - LJ Johnson, Sam Adams, Deshun Murrell, and Monte Watkins seem like potential RB options.
This hurts more from a Cal perspective than a football one…we can absolutely replace Ott’s football production.
Please explain
Guy was absolutely the face of the program, but Jet is the better back for this team because surprise surprise Wilcox has failed to assemble a competent OL and while Ott’s vision and patience will benefit him at the next level, it’s a negative in Berkeley where holes need to be hit quicker. Social media is pointing to that fact as the reason for the stagnation comment. Still hoping Famika can coach them up and forge a competent OL, but at the end of the day Justin Wilcox is simply horrible at his job.
Also, while Mendoza and Ott both have reasons for transferring given Wilcox’s staggering failures with the offensive side of the ball, they nonetheless BOTH did the program dirty on the way out…Ott especially - he has had a foot out the door and held Cal up for money when he was apparently always leaving with the degree to be coached by DeMarco Murray in Norman.
$$ are now the driver. We can all talk about coaching failures and whatever, but $$ now drive NCAA football more than ever. Sad.
Cal’s money is competitive.
This is a Knowlton and Wilcox issue. That is fact.
OK, not arguing that. If I was a betting man, I’d put it on Cal’s money. Let ‘er roll.
It’s certainly 100% a problem for Men’s Basketball, Ken.
But football has a rather competitive NIL budget, at least commensurate with similar programs…not Ohio State or Notre Dame, of course, and we can always have more…but word is both Ott and Mendoza left for non-monetary reasons, as the money was comparable.
When you say competitive with whom? Do we have any data on Cal's NIL for football. The top programs are now at $20+ million. I cannot believe Cal is close to that. But I am curious to find out - even a range would be helpful.
Where can I see further reporting on some of the backroom stuff and attacks on the program? I keep seeing whispers of that but I haven’t heard more.
Let’s do a Write For Cal Happy Hour and we can discuss…
When are you in San Diego next?
Early summer. I’ll bring the pup down and holler at ya.
We have plenty of money. With Ott it has to do with the program, his position coach leavng and some other things. He also has a history since before coming to Cal of flip flopping, it's in his nature.
Honestly, I am sadder about Endries than Ott. Last year he was a 1 million dollar gimp decoy. Would love to have seen him regain his old form, but that was a gamble. I never thought Ott was an every-down back and definitely not a between the tackles guy; and I don't think an RPO suited his talents. In space, dude is dangerous, for sure. Probably would be better as a third down specialist or returner (IMO).
Take the money and go buy a couple more stud OL or DL guys. Let Oklahoma overpay for him.
Hey maybe we could take some of that NIL we used to match Oklahoma's initial offer for Ott and pay Endries?
Totally agree. Love Ott but we need to spend our limited NIL dollars on the OL. These stories all focus on his 23 numbers, but ignore his poor 24 where he was clearly outplayed by Jet. I get it that he was injured, but this is football, there are dozens of injury-inducing, brain-scrambling, high speed collisions on every single play. If you can’t play through injury, you can’t really play
His numbers also went down last season due to his season opening ankle injury. Had we blown out UC Davis and controlled that game during the first half, Ott isn’t needed to play in the second and he doesn’t get injured.
Ay man on the bright side, almost 1 million dollars of NIL money just opened up, Wilcox better bring in some fucking talent through the Spring Portal.
Okay, next priority is keeping Uluave
I'm done with college sports. Its just not fun anymore.
Broken
so much lost luster
Who can fault a player for taking the opportunity to earn more money, play for a better team, (with a better offensive line), and play in perhaps the top conference in all of college football. Playing a top 25 team almost every week, with more opportunities for national TV exposure. OU averages over 80,000 attendance per home game. Yes college sports have changed, much for the better for the athletes, in any case. The courts have spoken and the NCAA has been behind the curve and paid the price. Cal is also behind the curve to the new ground rules and has paid the price of not being invited to join the more lucrative Big Ten. Instead taking a life line from the ACC at a greatly reduced revenue share. Its not on the players, it is on the Chancellor, AD and alumni to chart the course forward for Cal athletics. Unless we can come up more attendance at games, more TV viewers for revenue sharing, and more alumni funding, the coaches will be doing a good job if they can get a 500 record during the season. Thanks for memories Jayden Ott. Good luck at OU.
Counterpoint, don….Oklahoma is a better name - they're not necessarily a better team away from the Big 12. The Stoops/Riley era is over, the O is a mess, as is the OL compared to other SEC clubs…and Venables probably doesn’t last the year, given their schedule. (Auburn, Bama, Tennessee, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, plus Michigan in the noncon). It’s a puzzling move but consistent given how much they have tampered with him the past year.
Not to mention the chances of Ott, who has fought injuries his entire career at Cal, making it through a full season unscathed, taking the pounding he is expected to take, are slim.
So there’s transferring, and then there is threatening to leave to leverage more $$$ into a better offer elsewhere, despite re-committing to Cal….as he did last week. It’s a chickenschitt move, made worse by the fact that he threw the program under the bus on his way out. No one disputes that Wilcox’s track record for getting offensive players into the NFL is nonexistent, but Ott’s behavior through all of this was nonetheless bush league.
Hi Jimmy - I generally agree with your posts. But let's give Ott credit for staying at Cal for three years. He could have bolted after two years, certainly for more money. The flood gates seem to be opening on Cal FB just now, losing Ott, Endries and others into the spring portal. Why do you think it is so? Lack of funding for NIL for top players? Public spat between the AD and big donors? Revolt against new coaches? I do know this much, if Cal wants to recruit and retain top players they need to get their act together and soon. We have now lost our starting QB, WRs, TE and RB. It cannot be on all the players. All those players going to the SEC or Big Ten, by the way. The rich get richer. Cal's leadership has to look itself the mirror and make needed changes if they want to compete at the top levels of the ACC - forget the SEC and BIG Ten. Just continuing down the same path is not going to cut it. I think we all know that at this point.
Ha, everyone knows it. My point is not all transfers are the same, backstory and all.
I don’t begrudge anyone for leaving, in this day and age, and given where you know I stand on Wilcox and Knowlton, it is definitely not all on the players. Nothing is changing in this program until Wilcox and Knowlton are gone.
But leaving the way Ott and Mendoza, two guys that were potential all-time great Cal Bears, have both done, reflects incredibly poorly on both. You can be grateful we had Ott for 3 years…but like Mendoza, torching the program on your way out the door is not a classy move, and neither is dealing in bad faith, as he did.
Agree with Jimmy. Look, no one is saying you are not free to leave for more money, but if you do leave and especially if you leave and trash the school, then we as fans are certainly free to dislike you for doing so. That is just the existential burden the player bears. We have no moral or logical obligation to let them off the hook.
Yes, this!
Plus, while there are some donors writing big checks to the football program, there are also fans like us that are donating what they can to the CALegends…and that money is going to the players too, which honestly gives the fanbase more skin in the game than previously.
Not to mention the rumor on the socials is that he had already signed with Oklahoma before Saturday’s Spring showcase…that’s some dirty stuff because it’s against NCAA rules, for whatever that’s worth..
"NCAA rules"? That is an obsolete concept.
We did not lose any of our WRs other than Matthews. Who we replaced w De Jesus and also added Dazmin James
We lost Nyziah Hunter (our best WR last year) to Nebraska and Josiah Martin (a promising 4 star) to Oklahoma
Oh man, I had already forgotten those two. We lost 4 of the best 5 players on offense.
Mendoza, Ott, Hunter, Endries. (Jet is the other one on my list)
How quickly we forget, our best WR, Nyziah Hunter off to Nebraska. That was a big loss. And then Josiah Martin, who was showing strong potential, going to OU, before Ott. The loss of WR Coach Toler, who was arguably Cal's best recruiter, was a blow.
I think Mavin Anderson is leaving too
Stop clutching the pearls with all the “death of college football” nonsense. He graduated from Cal in 3 years (which of you did that?), wants to play pro football, and did a grad transfer to a better program. I’m sure he’s getting more NIL money — good for him, because he didn’t look like an NFL prospect in limited time last year, and running behind our line this year isn’t going to make it any better. You know who else got some NIL money? Teddye Buchanan and every other transfer we grab from a smaller football program. Yes, it sucks that we are part of the P4 minor leagues, but you can blame Knowlton, the athletic dept and our ridiculous limits on non-qualifiers for that.
Coyote32 is right. Jalen Hurts left Alabama for Oklahoma after graduating and I think that decision turned out to be a good one for him and his NFL future. Good luck, Jaydn. Sorry things didn't go better at the end but since you graduated, you will be a Golden Bear for life. Just make sure that you say you went to Cal during introductions on Sunday and Monday Night Football.
"He graduated from Cal in 3 years (which of you did that?)"
I did.
Regretted it though, and have ever since...
I graduated in 5 and remember asking a counselor if I could stay even longer.
My reading of the blowback is more about how he went about it, not the decision itself. I think it’s fair to be critical about that. He’s a smart guy and there is plenty of examples of what works and what doesn’t.
I don't think he did anything wrong. I fully believe he was committed to us until he saw the reality of the situation of his final season as a Bear.
Something has to be done about the current state of college football. These guys all have agents now, but we don’t have contracts, so they can renegotiate or jump ship at any time. This is a better deal than any pro league has.
Something has to be done, yet college football is as popular and profitable as it has ever been. And I agree it sucks, and yet . .
Non-athletes can transfer at will, not sure what the reason would be to impose limits on athletes. I think we just need to get used to it. Way more news to blog and comment about dudes!
Was anyone else around in 1976 when the Joe Roth led Golden Bears had an away game vs. Oklahoma. The Daily Cal writer described Norman Oklahoma as "The armpit of America". It's a line I'll never forget, and it stirred up quite a controversy. BTW, the Bears lost 28-17.
I was. That's the year the Bears had a brutal non-conference schedule. They opened the season on the road against Georgia, Oklahoma and Arizona State (this was back in the Pac-8 days).
Mendoza and Ott, though bereft of class in their departures, remain symptoms of the disease.
The larger issue remains Justin Wilcox and Jim Knowlton’s continued employment by the University of California, Berkeley. When the local press, and subsequently major news outlets, are reporting on donors refusing to fund the biggest revenue-generating program in your department in its current leadership configuration, you have a catastrophic problem on your hands…one that does not get fixed with a 6 or 7 win season and low-level bowl that said-staff subsequently treats as a scrimmage.
But why Choklahoma? If he wanted season-ending disappointment, he coulda just stayed at Cal.
They have been pursuing him very hard for the past month. Make or break season for Venables, throwing out all the cards.
He loves Cracker Barrel!
Do we know why Aristotle left? I guess Wilcox just needs more time to learn his lessons.
mostly because Northwestern has the world class facilities to help his son who suffers from seizures
I’ve also heard Wilcox pushed him out, but those are hardly credible rumors.
Jaydn, thank you for the 3 years you dedicated to the CAL community. You’re already a legend. You’re clearly a rare talent but it was also clear that you’re a tremendous teammate. You didn’t sulk or make it about you when your injury prevented you from dominating or even being on the field. You were always the same positive and supportive teammate on the sidelines. I noticed that and really appreciated your focus and love for your teammates. Oklahoma is so damn lucky. I’m no sooners fan, but I’ll always be a massive Jaydn Ott supporter NMW. Good luck and THANK YOU
Read an interesting take on the OU offense with addition of Ott. Sounds familiar in some ways but with the exception of an outstanding transfer and recruiting haul: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/oklahoma-football-has-bigger-problems-than-transfer-portal-prize-jaydn-ott-can-fix/amp/
The "jet" Javian Thomas is better any way. I don't think the running game will suffer with his loss.The great Cal coach Pappy Waldorf once quoted that "running backs were a dime a dozen, but good linemen are worth hundreds more".
Well, if Jet wasn't also gone thru the portal...