Tag: Jaydn Ott

Chiefs scouting report: California Golden Bears RB Jaydn Ott

If the #Chiefs want to select a RB in the 2025 NFL draft, they should consider looking at California Golden Bears rusher Jaydn Ott.

The Kansas City Chiefs must add running back depth in the 2025 NFL draft. Three running backs on their roster hit free agency after the season, and the recent injury to Isiah Pacheco revealed how heavily the team relies on him. Fortunately, there are plenty of running back prospects in the upcoming class.

California Golden Bears rusher Jadyn Ott is an explosive one-cut running back with the acceleration to blow past the defense’s second level. Linebackers can’t match his burst and struggle to maintain their pursuit angles. Safeties who take steep downhill paths to the football find themselves trailing Ott.

Ott patiently surveys gaps behind the line of scrimmage until he spots an opening and darts through it. The junior processes run lanes quickly, using his fast footwork and excellent lower body control to maneuver through traffic. Once he spots an opening, he makes a sharp cut and slams on the accelerator.

Ott offers value as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. He showcases impressive urgency with his routes to give the quarterback an open target early in the play. Linebackers struggle to stick with Ott’s speed on routes. He’s a natural hands catcher who hasn’t dropped a pass since 2022.

The Chiefs could select Ott on the draft’s third day. Ott is an intriguing prospect, but he lacks the size of an every-down back and projects best as a rotational player. He offers a nice change of pace compared to Pacheco and Carson Steele.

The Golden Bears face North Carolina State on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2:30 p.m. CST. Both programs lost their last two games by one-score differences.

Jaydn Ott looked like a Heisman candidate against USC on Saturday

Embarrassing for Alex Grinch and Bennie Wylie, wouldn’t you say?

The California Golden Bears had a number of offensive players to watch heading into Saturday’s game. One was wide receiver and former four-prospect Brian Hightower, who was originally from Los Angeles and had played in parts of five college seasons at Illinois and Miami. Hightower still had one year of eligibility remaining as a grad transfer and hoped for a breakout season with Cal.

However, Cal’s offense didn’t have to lean on the passing game on Saturday against USC — not when the Golden Bears had running back Jadyn Ott.

The Bears were like a knife going through warm butter against USC’s gooey, mushy, and very soft defensive line, particularly in the first half when Bear Alexander was serving a one-half suspension for his targeting penalty the week before against Utah.

Ott rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns. He made things look very easy when Bear Alexander was not in the game. USC did create some turnovers against Cal, but 49 points allowed to a 3-5 football team remains the number one fact about this game for the Trojans, even in victory.

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Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs Samford

Auburn should win Saturday, but there is one aspect that they should keep an eye on.

The Samford Bulldogs travel to Jordan-Hare stadium to wish undefeated Auburn a happy homecoming this Saturday at 7 p.m. CT.

The Bulldogs are coming off a rough 30-7 loss at the hands of conference opponent Western Carolina, while the Tigers head into this game without a loss, most recently beating California in Berkeley 14-10.

It is clear Auburn has the edge in this game, not only from a pure talent standpoint but also because of the emotional advantage of a homecoming game.

ESPN FPI gives the Tigers a 98.7% chance of winning and improving to 3-0 on Saturday, a record Auburn hasn’t achieved since 2019, when they started the season 5-0.

Most of the country will check off this week three showdown as a blowout, but will the tale of the tape show us this game could be closer than most think?

The quarterback matchup is fairly interesting heading into this one.

Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has been serviceable this season, completing 19/31 passes for 235 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

He has also fumbled once.

[autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] has also seen ample playing time for the Tigers, completing 3/9 passes for three yards.

Most of his damage has been done on the ground, where he has rushed for 59 yards on 13 carries, finding the end zone thrice.

On the other side, Samford quarterback [autotag]Michael Heirs[/autotag] has been absolutely electric for the Bulldogs since he transferred to the school in 2022.

Heirs was the 2022 SoCon Offensive Player of the Year last season, collecting 3,544 yards through the air and tying the school record with 36 touchdown passes.

The 36 touchdowns and 3,544 yards were fourth and sixth in the entire nation, respectively.

Heirs also checks in at 6″1 tall and 215 pounds. While you would expect an FCS quarterback to be undersized, his attributes are very comparable to Thorne, who stands 6″2 and weighs in at 203 pounds.

With all that being said, the clear edge in quarterback play still goes to Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford, as the experience and quality wins against FBS opponents outweigh the accolades of Heirs.

A more clear advantage for Auburn is on the defensive side of the ball, where they shined in week two against Cal.

The Tigers’ defense has been decent against the pass this season but struggled against the run in week one against UMass. The good news for Auburn is that run defense seemed to fix itself in week two.

The front seven was able to hold NFL talent [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag] to 3.9 YPC off the back of linebacker [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag]’s SEC co-defensive player of the week performance.

The even better news for Auburn is Samford does not run the ball, as their running backs combined for just 14 carries a week ago.

The Bulldogs passing attack is better than most FCS teams, but Auburn’s defensive strength so far in 2023 has been against the pass.

As for Samford’s defense, the glaring stat is the 25.4 PPG they gave up in 2022 to FCS teams. The number itself is respectable, Auburn is much steeper competition.

Auburn gets the edge in defense.

The final edge to Auburn goes in the sheer size department. Auburn’s offensive line weighs an average of 313 pounds.

The average weight of Samford’s interior defensive lineman is 270 pounds.

Discrepancies like that exist throughout the field. Even if the Bulldogs play a great game, the physical tool endured by them may be too much by the time the second half rolls around.

Auburn kicks off its homecoming game against Samford at 7 PM CST on Saturday at Jordan-Hare.

It should be a very happy homecoming for Tiger fans.

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College GameDay picks Auburn vs. Cal

The crew of College GameDay is split on their picks for Auburn’s game against Cal.

Auburn is going for its second win of the season and this time they won’t be in the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium as they are set to take on the Cal Golden Bears all the way in Berkley, California.

This game will be much tougher than Auburn’s game last week, Cal is also 1-0 on the season and has an impressive rushing attack, they racked up 357 yards and six touchdowns on the ground and have an underrated running back in [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag].

Auburn is entering the game as 6-point favorites according to BetMGM but ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew is not nearly as confident in the Tigers. Pat McAfee, Lee Corso and guest picker Joe Namath all picked Cal while Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit are riding with Auburn.

The game is set to start at 9:30 p.m. CT and will be on ESPN.

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Brian’s Column: Auburn needs its linebackers to play better in week two

The Auburn Tigers run defense struggled in week one. This week they go up against a Cal team that had 357 rushing yards a week ago.

The Auburn Tigers are coming off a great 59-14 win over UMass in their home opener last Saturday. The offense was efficient, the special teams nearly broke multiple returns, and the defense was solid enough.

That defense relied heavily on their talent and size against the UMass Minutemen. While that worked against an inferior team, Auburn’s defense, specifically the linebackers, is going to have to play more fundamentally sound football if they hope to move to 2-0 after the dust settles on Saturday.

That means the quintet of [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Levant[/autotag], [autotag]Robert Woodyard Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Wesley Steiner[/autotag], and [autotag]Larry Nixon III[/autotag] are going to have to step up against a Cal running attack that just gashed North Texas for 357 yards on the ground.

So what went so wrong for this group in week one and how do they fix it?

It all starts with knowing and staying with your assignments in order to avoid runs like this.

This run by UMass quarterback [autotag]Taisun Phommachanh[/autotag] is one of those plays Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts will want to show to his team once and then burn.

The minutemen run a simple counter. Defensive end #33 [autotag]Mosiah Nasili-Kite[/autotag] gets sucked into the misdirection, creating a need for the filling linebacker, #13 [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag], to keep outside contain.

Instead of doing that, Riley shoots the c-gap, leaving him in no man’s land next to Nasili-Kite.

That leaves cornerback [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] out on an island with Phommachanh, a matchup which the UMass quarterback wins with ease. From there, bad angles by the aforementioned Riley and weakside linebacker, #6 [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag], allow Phommachanh to rumble for 31 yards.

Being out of position was a common theme for Auburn’s linebackers, even on simple play designs.

UMass runs a simple inside concept here, with the offensive line blocking straight up before the left guard comes off his double to the second level.

Again, [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag] shoots the wrong gap, taking himself out of the play almost immediately.

Austin Keys is late to recognize the run, allowing UMass guard Marcellus Anderson to serve him up a fresh pancake. After Keys goes to the ground, Auburn is left with nobody on the outside, allowing running back [autotag]Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams[/autotag] to pick up a long gain.

Key’s and Riley weren’t the only Auburn linebackers that struggled in the opener.

The Tigers lose contain again on this run play, as [autotag]Elijah McAllister[/autotag] cheats too far inside, allowing [autotag]Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams[/autotag] to bounce his run outside for another large gain.

Again, the job of containment is passed on to a member of the secondary. Although cornerback [autotag]D.J James[/autotag] is a good tackler for his position and makes a nice read, he takes a bad angle and Lynch-Adams has an easy first down.

Bad reads, blown assignments, and missed tackles simply cannot happen often against a good Cal rushing attack. Auburn can’t rely on it’s speed to make up mistakes, as Cal running back [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag] may be the best player on the field on Saturday.

The key for Auburn to win this game is simple.

The run defense just has to be decent enough to hold Cal to one or two big plays. If Jaydn Ott has green grass in front of him, he’s going to back up his trash talk and make the Tigers pay.

Saturday’s game should be a ton of fun, and it kicks off at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. California

These two teams are eerily similar, but who has the edge?

A pair of 1-0 teams will face off in week two, when the Auburn Tigers travel across the country to take on the California Golden Bears in Berkley California.

Auburn is coming off a 59-14 thumping of UMass in their home opener, while Cal’s week one game went eerily similar, as they coasted on the road against North Texas, 58-21.

Despite these similar results and Auburn having to travel all the way to the west coach and play in California Memorial Stadium, BetMGM currently has the Tigers as a 6.5 point favorite, giving the Tigers an implied odds of 71.43 to win the matchup outright.

ESPN’s FPI calculator sees this game going differently, as the Index is giving Cal a 54.9% chance to win their home opener.

With the differing opinions on how this game is going to play out, we’ll take it to the tale of the tape to provide some more clarity.

This game features two transfer quarterbacks who have yet to play a full game for their new teams.

On the home side, quarterback [autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag] played sparingly in his first two seasons for TCU, completing 6 passes in 6 attempts for 125 yards.

Jackson was named the starter in week one, but an early injury forced him to miss the remainder of the game after he completed 3/4 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 18 yards on three carries.

NC State transfer Ben Finley came in to replace him and played well, collecting 279 yards and a touchdown in the win. Still, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox told Jackson he wants him back, as he’s been named the starter for week two.

On the Auburn side of the ball, [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] played well in his 3+ quarters of action in week one, collecting 141 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 59% of his passes.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] also used a second quarterback frequently in week one, giving [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] a handful of packages in the red zone that led to 51 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

The edge in the quarterback department goes to Auburn, based on the fact Thorne and Ashford boast much more experience than Jackson and Finley.

As for the battle of the skill positions, that is much closer.

Auburn played week one without their number one running back in [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag]. That didn’t stop the Tigers from rushing for 289 yards thanks to great games from their o-line, the aforementioned [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag], [autotag]Sean Jackson[/autotag], and [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag].

Cal on the other hand rushed for 312 yards on the back of sophomore running back [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag]’s 188. Ott’s 188 yards and two-touchdown performance comes off the back of a very impressive freshmen season in which he racked up 1,218 total yards (897 rushing) and 11 touchdowns for a team that won a single game.

Ott is probably the best skill position player in this game, and the fact he is paired with a true number-one receiving threat in Jeremiah Hunter (965 receiving yards in 2022) gives Cal the edge over Auburn’s committee backfield and unproven receiver room.

The defenses in this game also stack up fairly evenly. Last year, Cal’s defense was in the middle of the pack in Division 1, giving up an average of 433.2 YPG. Auburn was slightly better, conceding 406.5 YPG to its opponents in 2022.

It was Cal who had the edge in week one of 2023 however, as they were able to hold a solid North Texas team to just 225 total yards. Auburn on the other hand gave up 301 to a UMass team that isn’t very good.

It’s too early in the season to give one team the edge on defense.

If these comparisons have taught us anything, it’s that this game will be as close as many experts expect it to be. These teams very similarly had bad seasons in 2022 and good starts to 2023, but only one of them will continue the positive vibes into week three.

This game should be a doozy, and it all kicks off at 9:30 p.m. CST on Saturday.

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‘A name doesn’t mean anything.’ Cal running back Jaydn Ott throws shade at Auburn

The talented running back from Cal has provided his opponent with bulletin board material ahead of Saturday’s game.

The Auburn Tigers just received some bulletin board material ahead of Saturday’s matchup with 1-0 Cal.

Golden Bears running back [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag] spoke to members of the media on Wednesday, making sure to let everyone know he is not afraid of Auburn.

“There’s a lot of focus on the name Auburn. But what I see on film is not really in comparison to what their name is,” Ott said Wednesday. “I just want to get that into my guys’ heads that a name doesn’t mean anything.”

Ott, who rushed for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns in Cal’s opener against North Texas, obviously sees holes in an Auburn defense that struggled to stop the run in 2022 and was only able to hold UMass to 5.5 YPG a week ago.

The Tigers defense also took a hit this week, and possibly longer, with MLB [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag] injuring his thumb in last week’s game. Key’s figured to play a large role in Auburn’s defensive front seven this year, but will be “out for a while” according to head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag].

Ott’s words ultimately ring semi-true in the sense that Auburn was not close to the best version of themselves over the last few seasons. The often-feared Tigers played more like house cats under [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag]. The film, and the record, reflect that.

Still, Auburn has been in the midst of finding its identity under [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], creating hype around the program once again. Quotes like this from opposing players are one surefire way to jumpstart a team coming together as one.

There is little doubt that Freeze and Co. will use Ott’s words to light a fire under this new-look Auburn team.

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Cal’s offense prone to air it out with a heavy dose of Jaydn Ott

California true freshman Jaydn Ott is proving himself to be the real deal in Berkeley.

With the vast majority of the opponent offensive previews, the quarterback is highlighted and we will get to California’s senior transfer from Purdue in Jack Plummer. But with the California Golden Bears, it’s true freshman Jaydn Ott that has been the engine that runs the offense in Berkeley.

There aren’t many running backs in the country that can rush for 274 yards as Ott did in the game against Arizona. That’s a high bar to set and obviously, the Golden Bear tailback hasn’t had quite the same performance since, but he showed the explosiveness that he’s capable of and the Ducks will try to make sure Ott doesn’t reach the century mark or score.

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According to Oregon coach Dan Lanning, Ott’s talents jump out of the television screen when watching the video.

“(It’s) just how hard he runs. I think he’s been freshman player of the week for three weeks,” Lanning said. “He does a good job running the ball. He runs with great physicality and effort and that shows up.”

Overall, the 6-foot, 205-pounder from Chino, Calif. averages nearly 90 yards a game and has found the end zone five times.

At quarterback, Plummer left Purdue in search of more consistent playing time and he’s found that in the Bay Area. Plummer didn’t exactly blow up the stat sheet with the Boilermakers. He averaged 162 yards in the air in the 21 games (13 starts) in his four seasons in West Lafayette, Ind. where he threw for 26 touchdowns, but he was picked off 10 times.

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His career has taken a big upswing in the Bay Area, however. All of his numbers have gone up with the Bears. In their seven games so far, Plummer is completing 61 percent of his passes while averaging 251 yards, thrown for 12 touchdowns, and just three interceptions.

“I think he’s a really accurate quarterback. He does a good job of getting the ball downfield and I don’t think there aren’t a lot of throws that he can’t make,” Lanning said. “He does a good job of that. Probably more elusive than people give him credit for. He does a good job in the pocket but he’s got good wideouts and he’s done a good job delivering the ball accurately.”

Plummer’s favorite target has been Michael Sturdivant, a 6-3, 205-pound redshirt freshman. He has 36 receptions and averages 64 yards a game and has scored five touchdowns.

There have been some changes along the Cal offensive line since Game 4. Prior to the Arizona game, coach Justin Wilcox benched four out of the five linemen with Ben Coleman the only player staying in the lineup.

Whether is was due to the changes or Arizona’s porous defense, it paid dividends with the Golden Bears scoring seven touchdowns, 49 points, 354 yards rushing, and 599 yards of total offense against the Wildcats.

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Know your foe, Cal: Five Golden Bears that could give Notre Dame problems

These Bears have sharp claws

The Irish enter week three with tempered expectations. It’s been a rough go for Marcus Freeman and although Notre Dame enters this contest 0-2 and California is 2-0, the Irish are still favorites at home. The Golden Bears wins haven’t come against teams that would scare many teams, so there is some talent on their squad. Here are five Bears that could give Notre Dame problems on Saturday.

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Tale of the Tape: Leading Rushers – Audric Estime vs. Jaydn Ott

Not liking this matchup at all.

Just a guess, but Notre Dame’s game with California likely won’t be won on the running game. It especially is unlikely that if that somehow does happen, [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] will be the one making a difference. Not even averaging 3 yards a carry, he’s a perfect example of the troubles the Irish’s offense have had. There’s not even a guarantee that he’ll be in this spot next week because not one running back has done anything to stand out so far.

The Bears’ Jayln Ott is more likely to turn heads by carrying the ball. No, he’s not among the elite runners in college football, but he can make a difference on a team that’s able to win games. So far, that ability has paid off to the tune of two Bears wins, and more touchdowns should follow for him. Even though Ott only is a freshman, he has to be given the edge here, and that’s bad news for the Irish.

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