Coming into Saturday’s Cal-Auburn matchup at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the jury was out on whether Cal starting running back Jaydn Ott would play against the Tigers after injuring his ankle in Cal’s game vs. UC-Davis last weekend.

On Tuesday afternoon, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said Ott was “probable” to participate in Saturday’s game at Auburn.

When the Golden Bears finally made their way onto Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium for pregame warmups on Saturday afternoon, Ott was dressed and a full participant, indicating that the star back will be good to go against the Tigers.

“He’s concerning. He is one of the better tailbacks in the country, without a doubt,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said of Ott during his time on Auburn’s Tiger Talk radio show on Monday. “We anticipate he’s playing and he is one of the best backs in the country. We’ll have to tackle really well.”

When Auburn traveled to Cal last fall, Ott rushed for 78 yards and scored the Golden Bears’ lone touchdown as the Tigers pulled away late to secure a 14-10 win on the road.

Heading into his 2024 campaign, Ott ranked second among all FBS players in with an average of more than 92 rushing yards per game. Ott was also named an all-ACC first-teamer by Athlon Sports in the preseason and rushed for a pair of touchdowns in Cal’s season-opener vs. UC-Davis last Saturday.