There were times during the 2025 college football season that Oklahoma fans forgot the Sooners even had the No. 1 running back out of the Transfer Portal on their roster because of how little Jaydn Ott produced while wearing crimson, or even saw the field at all.
Ott's time in Oklahoma will quickly be disregarded after he got to Norman with insane hype after three seasons at Cal, but then totalled only 21 carries for 68 yards while appearing in six games a Sooner. Despite the lackluster senior campaign, Ott still got an invite to last week's Senior Bowl, and to the surprise of OU fans, he was one of the biggest standouts of the week in Mobile, Alabama.
Jaydn Ott brutally honest about falling off after Senior Bowl redemption
In the midst of turning heads at Senior Bowl practices, Ott was brutally honest about himself in an interview with Travis May of A to Z Sports about his head-scratching showing at OU, as well as an injury-riddled 2024 season after leading the Pac-12 in rushing in 2023.
"My career's pretty much a big question mark," Ott said. "First two seasons were pretty decent, and then the last two I just fell off the face of the earth.
"I'm just excited to get out here and play ball, really. I haven't had the chance to get on the field much and show that I can compete with some of the best."
Met with Jaydn Ott, RB Oklahoma after #SeniorBowl practice. Talked thru the ups and downs of his career. @AtoZSportsNFL pic.twitter.com/f7WnWc7wPT
— Travis May (@FF_TravisM) January 29, 2026
In all honesty, Ott actually gained more respect from NFL scouts and also OU fans by being honest about his time with the Sooners instead of putting the blame on something else or just completely ignoring what happened. Ott also rose his stock after turning eight carries into 42 yards while averaging 5.2 an attempt and scoring a five-yard touchdown in the Senior Bowl.
It could be too little, too late after two poor seasons of film, but after how stellar Ott was in 2023 and the fact he looked more like that form during the Senior Bowl, at least one NFL organization will take a chance on Ott and see which year;s model they get of Ott.