(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)
TEMPE — On Arizona State Football’s first play after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt handed the ball off to senior running back Cam Skattebo like he’d done 32 other times in Saturday night’s game against Mississippi State.
Skattebo took the handoff, made one defender miss and sped past the rest of the defense for a 39-yard gain. Just before he reached the end zone, Skattebo stopped and slid, giving himself up at the 12-yard line. By not scoring the touchdown, Skattebo iced the game and sealed the Sun Devils’ 30-23 win for the Sun Devils.
“He could have scored a touchdown, and he slid,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said postgame. “And that’s the growth that he’s had, is Skatt of last year goes and scores and gives them a chance to have two minutes left to go in the game, to go down and score, kick an onside kick, and try to win. Skatt of this year falls down. We take three knees. We win the football game. That’s the growth he’s made as a person.”
Skattebo’s personal growth resulted in him being named a member of the Pat Tillman Leadership Council, a role his teammates voted him into. Saturday, He led the charge hyping up his teammates and re-energizing them late in the game. Before his game-sealing play, Skattebo empowered his offensive line, instilling confidence in them to go out and win the game.
“I think (Skattebo) definitely stepped up in the offseason,” redshirt senior offensive lineman Leif Fautanu said Saturday. “He’s had more of a voice than last year, and I think he really cares about the standard of the team, and he’s very passionate about what he does. And as you guys can tell, he just wants to have the rock every play. But as passionate as he is, he’s very much a great leader.”
For Skattebo, there hasn’t only been a change in mindset but also a change in physique and focus. This progress and growth have resulted in ASU’s best player from the 2023 season getting better for 2024.
Saturday night, despite not scoring a touchdown, Skattebo set the pace offensively and recorded a career-high 262 rushing yards. It was the second-most rushing yards in a single game by a Sun Devil running back.
Skattebo accomplished the feat by averaging 6.9 yards per attempt on 33 attempts. Combined with his 35 receiving yards, he generated 71.6% of the Sun Devils’ total offensive yards.
“They couldn’t stop us in that three-down front,” Skattebo said. “Honestly, we all felt disrespected with them in a three-down front. You can’t come in here and put five guys in the box and expect to stop six. I don’t know. We took that a little disrespectful.”
All night, Skattebo bounced off would-be tacklers and evaded Mississippi State defenders to give ASU the jolt its offense needed. A Skattebo rush directly preceded two of ASU’s three made field goals.
Prior to Leavitt’s pair of 1-yard rushes that resulted in a touchdown near the end of the second quarter, Skattebo chewed up 32 yards with back-to-back 16-yard rushes to move the ball to Mississippi State’s 2-yard line.
“I think today was fun,” Skattebo said. “I mean, that’s the most fun I’ve had in a football game in a long time. … Bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that’s fun to us. That’s fun to the front five, the front seven, and a running back.”
Skattabo’s growth as a person and as a player comes at just the right time in his career. Preseason, he was named to the Paul Hornung Award and Doak Award watch lists for the most versatile player and best running back in college football, respectively.
With 311 rushing yards already through the first two games, Skattebo is positioning himself for a successful senior year and potentially an even more successful future in football.
“I really challenged him after last year,” Dillingham said. “…Every back but one of mine since I’ve been a coordinator has played on Sundays … And I said ‘Right now, you’re not one, and if you want to be one, you’re going to drop weight. You’re going to get in better shape. you’re going to be faster. You’re going to control your passion, and you’re going to channel it.’ And he’s done everything I’ve asked him, so right now, that looked like a Sunday player.”
