Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo opted not run the 40-yard dash Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis but he told reporters he would showcase his skills at ASU Pro Day. (Photo by Samuel Nute/Cronkite News)
INDIANAPOLIS – An aggressive hit or a player running through another are among the cornerstones of why many fans love football. They spring off their couches or cheer loudly in stadiums when pure power is showcased.
Physicality is the trait driving these factors and Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo exemplifies it.
“It’s pretty simple,” Skattebo said at the NFL scouting combine Friday. “I’m physical. People don’t think I’m as fast as I am, which I am fast but punish the defender because they don’t want to do it for four quarters. … And my objective at the end of the day is to get to the end zone.”
Players including Marshawn Lynch, Derrick Henry and Adrian Peterson ran with a physical style that made them exciting to watch. It defined their college careers, yet many wondered if that physical nature would carry over to the NFL.
In 2025, a similar question surrounds Skattebo, who runs angry but with passion. It’s an intriguing question for front offices to answer.
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort thinks it’s simple.
“There’s no better way to project that than how they play on their college tape,” Ossenfort said at the NFL scouting combine Tuesday. “If there’s a guy who is physical, tough, aggressive, violent, chances are that guy’s going to continue to play like that. That’s probably a tough skill to develop.
“If a player doesn’t play like that, (we’re) probably kidding ourselves a little bit to think that we’re going to fix that, we’re going to adjust that. There are things that we can hopefully develop, such as technique, strength, and things like that, that we can improve. Physicality or violence? I’m not sure that’s one that we can really fix for you.”
This upcoming class has more depth than ever.
“This is an elite running back draft,” The Draft Network analyst Jaime Eisner said. “We’re going to see 30-plus running backs get taken. I would be surprised if we don’t see that number.”
In the Valley, one of those elite backs reigns above all in ASU fans’ hearts. The Sun Devils made a magical 2024 season run, sending ASU to its first College Football Playoff.
Skattebo played a big part in that success, accumulating 24 touchdowns and over 2,300 total yards. And 208 of those yards came in ASU’s Big 12 championship win over Iowa State, which soon saw Skattebo call himself “the best running back in the country.”
A quote like that turns heads. The spotlight, something Skattebo seems to embrace, was brighter as the team advanced to the Peach Bowl.
The dominance was on display Jan. 1, when he took to the national stage. Exactly 284 yards later, he took social media by storm, too, as he accounted for three touchdowns and a late fourth-quarter catch down the sideline.
The performance wasn’t enough for the win but enough to turn heads in the NFL draft world. Skattebo earned a ticket to Indianapolis for the combine, where he attempts to prove doubters wrong.
But why would he need to prove anyone wrong? He finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting behind only one other back, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
National draft analysts don’t perceive him in the same light, and questions remain about him as a prospect. In ESPN’s best remaining players list for the 2025 NFL Draft, Skattebo is listed as the fifth best back in this draft, and he is not on the top 50 prospect list of the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.
“But if he can get himself into the 4.5’s (in the 40-yard dash),” Eisner said, “I think that’s going to really raise some eyebrows for some people, just because I think if you’re going to say, ‘Hey, what’s the knock on Cam Skattebo?’ It’s going to be he’s not very fast.”
Scouts will have to wait for that 40 time. Skattebo confirmed Friday that he will not be participating in the event Saturday when the running backs showcase their skills at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“I won’t be working out,” Skattebo said. “I’ll be doing the broad jump and the vertical, some things going on. So I’ll be working out at Pro Day on March 27 at Arizona State.”
ASU’s Cam Skattebo, left, speaks with CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine Friday in Indianapolis. (Photo by Samuel Nute/Cronkite News)
ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said he informed Skattebo last offseason that if he wanted to play on Sundays, he had to drop weight and get in shape.The running back did, and the improvement was significant. Still, the breakaway speed on his tape does raise questions.
“My physique needed to change,” Skattebo said about the conversation he had with Dillingham before the 2024 season. “I was a little high in body fat. Need to drop that a little bit, gain some more muscle. I need to work on my speed. So the technique and running was something I didn’t really know about until I started really learning and understanding what was going on.
“And then just being a better leader, becoming a better person, being mature. The years passed, and then maturing over the senior year of my college career helped me a lot. So those are the main three things we talked about, and those were focuses for the whole senior season.”
Still, speed is the question. It’s the main reason backs including Jeanty, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton rank above him consistently. His game outside of that has analysts pumped.
“He’s mean in pass protection,” draft analyst EJ Snyder said. “He’s got good feet. He’s got an amazing contact balance. He runs hard, competes and seems like a really good team guy. There’s not much that you can sort of put in the knock category outside of he’s maybe not the fastest back in this draft.”
The heart and physicality are evident. Multiple examples this past season showcase love for the game. It was for the whole country to see in the Peach Bowl, where he was throwing up on the sideline and still went out onto the field, dominating the competition.
His role in the NFL remains intriguing. Eisner said he didn’t see Skattebo as a “1A” back, but added a type of situation that could work for Skattebo is similar to the one the Detroit Lions have with their “Sonic and Knuckles” backfield in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Playing the Montgomery role would allow his physical skill set to shine.
It’s not a bad thing. The game has changed.
“Gone are the days of we need a bell cow and our number one guy to pound and help,” NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano said. “It’s always going to be a running back. You do need a number one. But you also need a number two and a number three to take the pressure and the workload off.”
The speed may not even be a concern to some NFL teams looking for a “bruiser” at the back position.
“The emphasis on the run game and the physicality that comes with it for running backs,” Raiders general manager John Spytek said Tuesday about what he values at that position. “I think people get caught up in speed, which is great. You can find Chris Johnson that runs 4.28, or whatever you run, and nobody can catch him.
“To me, it’s more about the guys that have great instincts, great vision, that are hard to get on the ground. If they can run 4.3, even better. But I’ve seen a lot of great ones that run the 4.5 and 4.6s that are just hard to tackle, and they set the tone for the team.”
He is prepared to prove the world wrong again at his Pro Day, showing that he can run fast.
Exciting times are ahead for Skattebo, and although he’s leaving a place special to him, he doesn’t see it that way.
“Kenny and all those guys, people say you leave it behind, but they’ll forever be with me,” Skattebo said. “I’ll be back at that school communicating and hanging out with those guys all the time, as much as I can at least. That’s forever home. I’ll call Arizona home forever, and I enjoyed being there, and it’s something I’ll never take back in my life.”
Fans will be tuned in for the draft April 24-26 to discover the new threads Skattebo will wear.
What remains less clear is where he will go. One thing is certain: Skattebo will gear up with that “underdog” mindset, and try to prove to the NFL world that the zero-star recruit who loved to run into light poles as a kid is here to stay.
