It’s hard to miss.
As Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo heads onto the field as part of the kickoff unit, he’s as hyped as you can get. Once the ball is in the air, he’s jetting down the field like he’s trying to win the 100 meters in a track and field race before launching himself into an opposing wall of players.
No more was this on display than late in the game against Kansas last week when, after already having carried a heavy workload for most of the evening, it was Skattebo coming in on one of the final kickoffs to help force the tackle.
“Absolutely critical,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said, highlighting the importance of Skattebo’s role. “We joked around because he wasn’t on kickoff against Texas Tech. We’re 4-0 when he’s on the field for kickoff. That seems comical and laughable, but it also is a mindset that our best dudes are in it. Our best dudes are playing this game in every facet. Kudos to him, game’s on the line, run down on kickoff.”
While it may seem reckless to some to have the crown jewel of your team who is currently sixth in the NCAA for rushing yards also playing special teams, it is the exact type of effort that Dillingham desires to see from his do-it-all athlete.
Dillingham, who has dealt with his fair share of future NFL players in college, sees it as a stepping stone to something bigger. Skattebo has maintained a desire to play at the next level.
“I know there’s probably a lot of people that think we’re crazy for putting him on kickoff, right? ‘There’s not even kickoff in the NFL, why would you put him on kickoff?’” Dillingham said. “Well, I’ll tell you what, that kickoff play is going to get him drafted.’
‘Not just his ability to play football at running back, but when a scout and a team see a running back add versatility in more ways than just being a running back — they see his toughness, his competitive drive — all of that stuff adds up to help you get drafted.”
Skattebo finished the evening against Kansas with 186 yards on 25 carries, his second game of the season with at least 185 rushing yards. His 1-yard touchdown run from the wildcat formation at the beginning of the fourth quarter re-took the lead from the Jayhawks to make it 21-17.
With redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt not finding much success throwing the ball deep, Skattebo’s 7.4 yards per carry helped fuel the ASU offense. But again, it was Skattebo’s performance on special teams that Dillingham highlighted.
“It’s funny that most things you do to help the team, help you personally as well,” Dillingham said. “But you get so distracted by what the world wants you to be personally that you lose focus. People are drafting players to join a team. They’re not drafting players to play singles tennis.
“If you’re the best teammate, if you add value to the football team, the odds of you going higher in the draft, the odds of you being picked up go up. And I think that right there, that play, is going to be a lot bigger to Cam’s career at Arizona State, but even beyond than people realize.”
Other news and notes
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The status of Utah senior quarterback Cam Rising, who has only made two starts this season and has been out with a hand injury since Sept. 7, remains unclear. Per Josh Furlong of KSL Sports, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Rising will play once he gets the go-ahead from the medical staff. “We’ll see what happens this week … but there’s a chance.”
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Dillingham announced that senior transfer wide receiver Malik McClain will redshirt this season, but indicated that he will stay at the school for next season. Dillingham said that with McClain entering late because of the transfer portal, the staff “didn’t feel like we were doing him justice” to keep playing him only a handful of snaps per game as he caught up to speed.
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The kickoff time for next week’s road game against Cincinnati has been announced: noon ET, 9 a.m. Arizona time.
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU relying on do-it-all Cam Skattebo as ranked Utah heads to Tempe
