Well, Kenny Dillingham and the Arizona State Sun Devils were able to put a lock on the haters’ mouths. How? They spreaded magic on the gridiron last season. The end result? 11-3 run for the Big 12 champs. But the 2025 season is not going to look anyway like the 2024 season. Poor Dillingham! This season’s winning blueprint is already missing two key pieces- RB Cam Skattebo and WR Jake Smith. That’s when Arizona State’s offensive coordinator broke the silence on how the Sun Devils are going to cope with Skattebo’s absence. At the same time, in the pro league, the RB has a $5.15 billion NFL giant swarming around him.
“ASU has changed my life forever.” Those were the exact words Skattebo said after his epic Peach Bowl performance. Sun Devils fans are extra protective about their All-American running back. The 2024 season was all about Skattebo breaking tackles and running over defenders. And he continued to give his opponents a tough time till the end. Skattebo rallied Arizona State from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to nearly topple heavily favored Texas in the College Football Playoff finale. Yes, the Longhorns at the end pulled out a 39-31 double-overtime victory, but atleast the running back ensured that his fans go home with atleast something. Skattebo gifted them with 282 all-purpose yards and 3 total touchdowns that evening. In the 2024 season, he came up with 1711 yards and 21 touchdowns. And in the two seasons combined, the stats are 2494 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Marcus Arroyo on ASU’s outlook at RB without Cam Skattebo:
“Skatt is special. You’re gonna miss some of those plays, obviously. You got to find out what these new guys can do. Just like any season, you start fresh.”@SunDevilSource pic.twitter.com/YnxjEh1sgL
— Jakob Brooks (@Jakobrooks) April 10, 2025
Now you can see how hard this goodbye is going to be. So, fans are inquisitive to know whether the Sun Devils have already moved on from Skattebo or not. After their spring practice on April 10, Marcus Arroyo faced the media. He said, “Skatt is special. You’re gonna miss some of those plays, obviously.” But to the coach, the show must go on. As he continued, “You got to find out what these new guys can do. Just like any season, you start fresh. You find out where you can isolate some really explosive plays on certain guys, where you got to find the the identity of the offense.” However, it’s not going to be an easy task for Dillingham’s boys to defend the title of Big 12 champions without one of their most talented offensive players in recent memory.
After all, the star running back possessed a rare contact balance to the field. This skill turned into a deadly weapon when topped with his ability to wait for blocks to develop. And how could we forget his quick feet warranting any defender contacting him? But turns out that Dillingham is no longer pestering over the loss. Rather diligently takes efforts to fill the gaps. From the transfer portal, they have recruited backs. One of the team’s biggest additions came with junior running back Kanye Udoh. The young chap found success in the Army offense last season, totalling 1,117 yards on 179 carries and finding the endzone 10 times. They are also returning backs like redshirt junior Raleek Brown and junior Kyson Brown. Meanwhile, things are heating up for Skattebo in the NFL.
Cam Skattebo has the spotlight on him in the NFL
Earlier this month, Skattebo saw his NFL draft stocks taking a downward route. As per ESPN’s latest NFL mock draft, the former Sun Devils running back is projected to fall to the fourth round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In some other mock drafts, they again see Skattebo as a fourth-round pick but going to the Denver Broncos. His biggest competitor in the 2025 NFL Draft is former Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. If it weren’t for Jeanty’s unbelievable season, we’d be talking about Skattebo as the hardest back to bring down in this year’s class. In PFF’s list of running backs based on missed tackles, Jeanty is at No.1 with 163 missed tackles, while Skattebo gets the second rank with 120.
On April 10, Cleveland reporter Nick Pedone dropped a bomb. He tweeted, “Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo is in Cleveland for a visit with the Browns.” Does it hint that something is cooking between the Arizona State star and the 5.15 billion giant? The Browns are desperate for a featured back after they averaged just 94.6 rushing yards per game last season. This pushed them to the 29th rank in the pro league.
Right now, the situation looks bad in Kevin Stefanski’s program. Nick Chubb will be a free agent in March, and he’s coming off a broken foot. That’s when Cam Skattebo comes off as the perfect addition for Cleveland. As Pro Football Network wrote, “The burly back has a knack for stringing together broken tackles and fighting for every single available yard. … Skattebo is explosive in a phone booth and possesses impressive duo eyes. Additionally, he possesses three-down traits because of his impressive pass-catching prowess and endless physicality as a pass protector.” The NFL gets a star, and Arizona State gets nostalgia. Skattebo’s about to make fans proud on both sides.
The post ASU OC Clears Feelings on Cam Skattebo as RB’s NFL Future Takes a Turn Amid $5.15B Team Interest appeared first on EssentiallySports.
