After a baffling and abrupt debut on Saturday night, we should see a lot more than just one carry from new Oklahoma running back Jaydn Ott this week when the Sooners host Michigan.
OU head coach Brent Venables on Monday night during his weekly coaches show said that he expects Ott to be used more on Saturday, and it sounds like Ott’s odd usage last week was because of the extended time he missed during fall camp. That's also what led him to be RB3 on the Week 1 depth chart.
Jaydn Ott injury update after odd Oklahoma debut
"He missed a lot of practice," Venables said of Ott. "But you're going to see a lot more of him."
Ott transferred from Cal this spring as the No. 1 running back in the Transfer Portal. In 2023, Ott led the Pac-12 with 1,305 rushing yards and 12 TDs. Last season, though, Ott ran for just 385 yards in 10 games while dealing with a nagging ankle injury all season.
Ott told media before fall camp that he was healthy, but then he missed over two weeks of practice during fall camp. That injury history and seeing the difference when Ott isn’t 100%, plus all the injury issues OU had last year, could lead the Sooners to be even more cautious with their new offensive weapon.
Regardless, Ott’s usage in the Sooners’ season-opening 35-3 win over Illinois State was head-scratching. He trotted out there for both of OU’s kickoff returns. It looked like, though, we wouldn’t see Ott take an offensive snap, which would be chalked up to health, but then on the second possession of the fourth quarter with the game already in hand, Ott was thrown out there for just one carry for a loss of three yards.
It seems health was the key reason behind limiting Ott in Week 1, no matter how odd that one random late carry seemed. It was an easy week to rest Ott against an FCS opponent with No. 15 Michigan coming up next. It was just never made clear that was the plan.
Moving forward on Saturday, Ott should be a vital part of the Sooners’ offense, which struggled in the run game last week. If not, though, then Sooner Nation has reason to be concerned about what was supposed to be a season-changing portal addition.
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