Oklahoma's Jaydn Ott tops SEC RB Rankings, but CBS Sports says he'll need lots of help

USA Today

22-04-2025

Oklahoma's Jaydn Ott tops SEC RB Rankings, but CBS Sports says he'll need lots of help
The Oklahoma Sooners made a big move to help their offense in the spring transfer portal window, when they added former Cal running back Jaydn Ott.
This addition, along with OU's current RB room of Jovantae Barnes, Xavier Robinson, Gavin Sawchuk, Taylor Tatum, and Tory Blaylock give the Sooners a very deep and talented stable of ballcarriers for 2025, especially if running backs coach DeMarco Murray can keep his returning backs out of the portal.
But Ott is no doubt the headliner of that group. He is among the best at his position in the entire SEC. CBS Sports staff writer Shehan Jeyarajah ranked the feature back for each team in the SEC on Wednesday, putting the new Oklahoma addition atop his list.
Ott suffered through injuries all of last season. When he's healthy, though, Ott is one of the nation's most explosive players. As a sophomore in 2023, he exploded for 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns at California to lead a surprising run to a bowl game. Ott will slot into Oklahoma's lineup and give them the high-caliber offensive playmaker that they haven't seen since Eric Gray and Marvin Mims graduated. The Sooners need him to stay healthy. - Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Ott's health is certainly one of the biggest things to keep an eye on with this acquisition, but there's no doubt that general manager Jim Nagy and head coach Brent Venables were able to add a back with plenty of potential and the ability to help the OU offense in a big way.
However, another staff writer at CBS Sports doesn't believe that the move for Ott will matter all that much for Oklahoma if another position group isn't up to the task. Tom Fornelli thinks the Sooners have bigger problems than the portals top running back can fix.
The addition of the former 2023 All-American and Pac-12 first-team running back is another boost for the Sooner's offense, and believe me, it's an offense in serious need of a boost. It could perhaps find use for two or even three more boosts. - Fornelli, CBS Sports
Fornelli dove into the data to explain just how bad the OU offense was a season ago, noting that the Sooners didn't finish in the top 80 nationally out of 134 FBS teams in any major offensive category. In fact, most of their national rankings dipped into the 100s, in categories such as yards per play (123rd), explosive play rate (131st), and pressure rate allowed (121st).
Jaydn Ott is a good player, and he's one Oklahoma fans should rightfully be excited about adding to the roster. The pairing of Ott and Mateer in the backfield together has the makings of a fun and exciting duo, but those two alone likely aren't enough to take the Oklahoma offense from "this is extremely offensive to all my senses, not just my vision" to a unit capable of leading Oklahoma to an SEC Championship appearance, or a possible College Football Playoff berth. You see, if you watched the Oklahoma offense last season, the skill talent wasn't the biggest problem. The fact Oklahoma's wide receivers spent more time in the training room dealing with injuries than on the football field was certainly a problem, but even if they'd been healthy, I'm not sure how often they'd have seen the ball. - Fornelli, CBS Sports
Fornelli then went on to explain starting quarterback Jackson Arnold's poor play from last year, but also pointed out that the struggles were certainly not all on him. He referenced the lack of a good run game for most of the season and the aforementioned injuries, especially at wide receiver. But Fornelli thinks OU's biggest problem is still up front.
Fornelli noted that the Sooners have tried to make improvements on the offensive line in the transfer portal this offseason, but thinks that Mateer and Ott will not be enough if Oklahoma struggles up front again in 2025.
How that unit fares in 2025 will ultimately determine how many games the Sooners win. Realistically, it's hard to imagine there will be enough improvement to vault the Sooners to the top of the league ... Having Mateer, Ott and receivers capable of actually playing should certainly make this team more competitive, but the schedule remains difficult (Michigan in non-conference, road trips to South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, plus the annual date with Texas). As presently constructed, this is a team that probably wins eight or maybe nine games if everything goes well and there aren't major injuries. If they don't, it could be another season that sees the Sooners scratching and clawing for bowl eligibility. - Fornelli, CBS Sports
Ott's addition was a great move for the Sooners, as were the acquisitions of Mateer and new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. But anyone who watched Oklahoma play in 2024 knows that the offensive line was, well, offensive to have to watch. The Sooners have made some big moves to try to get back to being the Oklahoma college football fears, but if the offensive line doesn't make a big leap forward, it may all be for nothing.