“I smell tampering”: CFB fans accuse Oklahoma of foul play after landing Cal transfer RB Jaydn Ott

Modified Apr 16, 2025 14:43 GMT

NCAA Football: California at Southern Methodist - Source: Imagn — CFB fans accuse Oklahoma of foul play after landing Cal transfer RB Jaydn Ott - Source: Imagn

College football fans believe the Oklahoma Sooners tampered to land Jaydn Ott in the transfer portal.

Ott had said all offseason that he would be staying at Cal, but as the spring transfer portal opened, Ott put his name in it and quickly landed with Oklahoma. Following Ott landing with the Sooners, some fans think there was tampering going on.

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"That was some nice tampering," a fan wrote.

"Wait, portal doesn't open till tomorrow I thought?," a fan added.

Many fans are worried that tampering and NIL money is an issue with college football, and Ott is the latest example.

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"Damn that was fast, I smell tampering!!," a fan wrote.

"I need someone to explain this to me like I’m 5. The portal doesn’t open until tomorrow. He entered yesterday. How is any of this legal? I’m indifferent to OU, but where is any set of rules? What is going on?," a fan wrote.

Ott will be a key part of the Sooners' offense in 2025.

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"Oklahoma cooking lowkey," a fan wrote.

"That Oklahoma offense is about to be a problem this year," a fan added.

Ott projects to be the Sooners' starting running back in 2025. Last season, he rushed for 385 yards on 116 carries and 4 touchdowns. But, in 2023, he rushed for 1,305 yards on 245 carries and 12 touchdowns.

Sooners coach was going to be active in transfer portal

Oklahoma had a disappointing 2024 season and coach Brent Venables said the team would be aggressive in the transfer portal.

Ahead of the transfer portal opening, Venables said the Sooners were looking for players at every position.

"Again, you’re looking at, you know, probably every position on your team," Venables said, via Yahoo. "You say, ‘Well, we could use another guy there,' you really could. And so we have our priorities and really don’t want to talk through those right now."

The Sooners have now landed the best running back in the portal in Ott to come in and compete for the starting job. Ott will be a key part of Oklahoma's offense in 2025 as the Sooners look to compete for a playoff spot.

The Sooners will open their 2025 college football season on August 30 against Illinois State.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton