INDIANAPOLIS – The season Cam Skattebo had at Arizona State – the career too – made it hard not to notice the running back, although help to watch the video is available.
"(Arizona State coach) Kenny (Dillingham) brings it over to me and says, 'Why don't you check this guy out,'" Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon quipped with a chuckle at the NFL Scouting combine.
"I'm not through that part of the evaluation process but I know he lit it up this year," Gannon said of the Sun Devils star. "I know he's a really good dude, high football-character, who loves ball. It'll be cool to watch him."
Skattebo's fascinating college career at ASU now evolves into a fascinating NFL draft process. He comes out in a year loaded with talent at running back, with a frame (he is listed at 5-foot-11, 216 pounds, although his official combine measurements come Saturday) that doesn't usually catch the eye as a top choice in the backfield.
His speed is in question, and while he won't run the 40 in Indianapolis – choosing to wait for ASU's March 27 pro day – the confidence he has in his traits is apparent.
"It's pretty simple," Skattebo said. "I'm physical, people don't think I'm as fast as I am, which I am fast. Punish the defender, because they don't want to do it for four quarters."
Skattebo won't run a 4.4, but the mid-4.5s would help. A big pro day could get him into the third round. The deep running back class also puts the fourth and even fifth round in play. He is a known commodity thanks to his unreal postseason play for the Sun Devils, a battering ram with ridiculous balance.
"He just chooses violence," NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. "I don't know if I have ever seen a more aggressive runner who just seeks out contact and who can absorb contact.
"When I was looking for a comp for him, my first thought was, 'OK, he is like a shrunk-down James Connor. I was like, 'Gosh, more of anything he reminds me of a Plinko chip from 'The Price is Right' bouncing off everything and everybody."
The Conner comp will make Cardinals fans take notice, although the chance of Arizona taking a running back a year after spending a third-round pick on Trey Benson and after re-signing Conner to an extension is practically nil.
That didn't stop Dillingham for making a comment after one of ASU’s Peach Bowl loss that the Cardinals need to draft Skattebo and keep him home.
While that won't happen, Skattebo will stay attached to both ASU and the state.
"That's forever home," he said. "I'll call Arizona home forever."
It was at Sacramento State as a sophomore that Skattebo said he first started to believe the NFL was a real possibility. Transferring to ASU after his Sac State coach left was an important part of that process. The maturation as a person he had between his junior and senior years in Tempe was crucial to getting to this point, on the precipice of being an NFL draft pick.
Skattebo also went through a much-publicized effort to cut body fat and add muscle. For the first time in his career, he brought science to his speed, learning technique he did not previously know.
His final season stats: In 13 games, he had 1,711 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns on 293 carries (5.8 yards a carry) and another 45 catches for 605 yards and three touchdowns. In his career he also threw 17 passes for ASU, completing seven for 172 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
"He's one of the best stories," ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid said. "He's one of the players who just lays it all on the line."
Skattebo said he didn't know if he'd get the chance to throw a couple of halfback-option passes in his career. He does want to show how good his route running and pass catching is, talents on display during his dramatic deep catch against Texas in the Peach Bowl. He admitted his pass blocking has been "questionable" but said he has worked hard to improve and believes he can show he can do that.
But Skattebo is a runner first, a downhill tank no defender wants to see – and why Skattebo said he chooses to play with the aforementioned violence.
"If you've got the ball in your hands, the objective is to get the ball in the end zone," Skattebo said. "Every time I touch the football, I am trying to get into the end zone."
