Is Cam Skattebo the most underrated running back in college football?
Cam Skattebo and the Arizona State Sun Devils football team didn't get much national attention heading into the 2024 college football season. And justifiably so.
The Sun Devils went 3-9 last year, lost two four-star prospects to the transfer portal - including quarterback Jaden Rashada - and looked to be in full rebuild mode under Kenny Dillingham, the youngest FBS coach in the country.
Five games into the season, it has become clear Dillingham knows how to rebuild on the fly. With Skattebo as his centerpiece, Dillingham has added and developed talent on both sides of the ball in short order, leading to a surprising 4-1 start. From redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt, a Michigan State transfer, to junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott, a New Mexico State transfer, the Sun Devils have playmakers.
But it all starts with Skattebo.
A lightly recruited running back out of Rio Linda High School in Northern California, Skattebo signed with FCS Sacramento State and spent the better part of two seasons destroying Big Sky linebackers. In his sophomore season he rushed for 1,372 yards (7.0 yards per carry) and 7 touchdowns and caught 31 passes for 371 yards and 3 TDs. He was named the 2022 Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year.
When Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor left for Stanford, Skattebo entered the transfer portal. Enter Dillingham. The newly appointed Arizona State coach was looking for talent, toughness and leadership - and Skattebo checked all of the boxes. Less than three weeks after being named the head coach at ASU, Dillingham had his man.
In his first season in Tempe, Skattebo did a little bit of everything. He rushed for 783 yards (4.8 yards per carry), scored 10 touchdowns, completed six passes (including a TD pass), played special teams and punted eight times.
Through five games this season, the 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior is No. 6 in the nation in rushing with 111 carries for 619 yards and 6 touchdowns. He has also been a threat coming out of the backfield with 15 catches for 209 yards.
But more than anything, Skattebo is selfless. Nowhere is that more evident than his willingness to fly down the field, clog running lanes and make tackles on kickoff coverage. It's a safe bet there isn't another starting running back for a Power 4 team that is playing special teams.
"The culture we're trying to build here is you do things for other people," said Dillingham.
On Sunday Dillingham shared a clip on social media of Skattebo sprinting down the field on kickoff coverage and making a tackle during the Sun Devils' 35-31 win over Kansas. His caption read "All the yards are great!!! But this is all about THE TEAM!! Love this."
When a reporter asked Dillingham during Monday's press conference how important Skattebo's presence is on kickoff coverage, the coach's answer was all about the team mindset - and his NFL future.
"I know there's probably a lot of people that think we're crazy for putting him on kickoff," said Dillingham. "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 when a team sees a running back add versatility in more ways than just being a running back ... and they see his toughness, they see his competitive drive. All of that stuff adds up to help you get drafted."
"And it's funny that most things you do that help the team actually help you personally as well. But you get so distracted by what the world wants you to be personally that you lose focus that people are drafting players to join a team, they're not drafting players to play singles tennis. So if you're the best teammate, if you add value to a football team, the odds of you going higher in the draft, the odds of you being picked up, go up. And I think that play is going to be a lot bigger to Cam's career at Arizona State, but even beyond, than people realize."
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.