BERKELEY — Cal fans got a glimpse of freshman running back Jaydn Ott’s speed in a 104-yard rushing performance against UC Davis last Saturday.
Ott has known he is pretty fast since he was 5 or 6 years old.
“My favorite game to play with my friends and my cousins was tag because I was the best at it,” he recalled. “They couldn’t catch me.”
Ott and the Bears (1-0) hope to accelerate past UNLV (1-0) when the teams kickoff Saturday at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
Already Ott has zoomed past recent Golden Bears stars with the most prolific rushing performance by a Cal freshman in his debut this century. Here’s the impressive group he out-ran and what they did in their first games as college rookies:
— Joe Igber: Rushed 26 times for 84 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ 24-21 win over Utah on Sept. 9, 2000.
— Justin Forsett: Rushed seven times for 34 yards and a TD in a 56-14 win at Air Force on Sept. 4, 2004.
— Marshawn Lynch: Rushed 12 times for 74 yards without a TD in a 74-12 loss at Tennessee on Sept. 2, 2006.
— Jahvid Best: Rushed four times for 46 yards without a TD in a 45-31 win over Tennessee.
— Shane Vereen: Rushed nine times for 101 yards and a TD as Cal claimed a 38-31 win over Michigan State on Aug. 30, 2008.
Ott called his Cal debut “surreal.” His speed was most evident on a couple pass receptions:
— An eight-yarder on a swing pass in which he dashed past a defender who thought he had an angle and eased into the end zone
— And on a play later in the quarter when he caught a short pass over the middle from Jack Plummer and darted 18 yards to set up a field goal.
Asked what impressed him about Ott’s performance, coach Justin Wilcox got straight to the point. “Speed,” he said. “Quickness and speed.”
“Unadulterated speed,” added offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. “He has a trait nobody can teach, and that’s his speed and acceleration.”
Ott, who says he was hand-timed at 4.4 seconds for 40 yards in high school, cited wide receiver Mason Magnum and safety Daniel Scott as the two fastest players on the Cal roster.
“I’ll take either one of them any day,” he said, laying down the challenge.
A 6-foot, 205-pound native of Chino, Ott also earned points in the locker room with his willingness to pass block, which not every freshman is up for doing.
“He stepped up there and hit a couple linebackers in the mouth when they were bringing pressure,” Musgrave said.
“He stuck his nose in there,” Plummer said. “That’s what you want and you respect as a quarterback.”
Ott sees blocking as part of the deal.
“Yeah, man, I love my quarterbacks.” he said. “I don’t want them to get hurt.”
Ott was the first running back off the bench against Davis and although his 17 carries were more than the combined total of three other Cal backs, Wilcox would not commit to a starter against the Rebels.
Ott is unconcerned. “I just want to do my job, whatever that might be.”
His dream is to play in the NFL and two of his idols are old-school guys. “I used to watch Barry Sanders and Walter Payton on this VHS tape my dad got me,” he said, while adding that his favorite NFL back is Adrian Peterson.
“That’s where I hope to be one day,” he said. “I’ve definitely got a lot more work to do. There’s definitely room for so much more improvement.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com