Cam Skattebo's first NFL carry might have been a flop, but former Arizona State star knows better things are coming now that he's getting healthy.
Cam Skattebo’s first real NFL moment was a bit of an inauspicious one.
The rookie running back for the New York Giants took the handoff on the Giants' game-opening possession during their preseason game Thursday night, Aug. 21, against the New England Patriots and stumbled, landing flat on his facemask after a 4-yard gain.
Naturally, the former Arizona State star immediately took some ribbing from his teammates.
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Skattebo told reporters during a conference call with reporters on Aug. 22. “When you fall on your own face, everybody gives you a little crap for it.
“But the guys understand what we have as a team, and we continue to push every day. They know nine times out of 10, I make that play. Really, 10 times out of 10. But first carry in the league, just getting my feet underneath me and that one I got caught up. It was a great experience. I can’t wait for more.”
Skattebo, a fourth-round pick, finished with three carries for 12 yards while playing in each of the Giants' first two series of their 42-10 victory at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was his first action since missing much of training camp, including the first two preseason games against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, because of a bothersome hamstring injury.
Though Skattebo said he never experienced a hamstring issue during his time at Arizona State, where he set the school’s single-season rushing record last year with 1,711 yards, he said it felt “awesome” to “play a little ball again” and “finally get back to it.”
The rehab process was long and difficult and there were legitimate concerns he might have to start the 2025 season on injured reserve if he wasn’t back in time for the third and final preseason game.
“The mindset the whole way through was, ‘Get healthy,’” Skattebo said. “That was the main thing. If it took me six weeks, it took me six weeks. Every day is better. I’m getting better every day.
"I was able to get some snaps in the game, and I felt great. I’m going to keep working on becoming more healthy and keeping my routine right.”
Cam Skattebo and the hamstring issue
He acknowledged a setback with his hamstring made things worse, but he was able to work through it, and now he is completely focused on being ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 7 at the Washington Commanders.
“Yeah, I had a couple few good days and then I had an issue with the injury,” Skattebo said. “I mean, football is football. It happens. The main thing is you just have to keep a positive mindset, make sure you’re not letting it dwell on your daily life. I continue to just come in here every day and try to get better and be sure that thing is as healthy as possible.
“It got better every day, and I felt it. Going into the game I was confident. My trainers and everybody made sure I was confident in it and they did a great job helping me get back. I’m going to continue to keep working at it and continue to play football.”
Skattebo’s first running play was significant for another reason besides the stumble. The Giants brought in big defensive tackle Elijah Chatman as Skattebo’s blocking fullback on the power run.
“Yeah, he’s been great,” Skattebo said of Chatman. “You get a 290-pound guy going full speed at a linebacker, we know who’s going to win that most of the time. I was getting Chat riled up before the game started. We knew what the first play was going to be: We knew Chat was going to hit somebody and I was going to get the ball, so I told him, ‘Let’s go. Let’s take somebody’s head off.’
“We understood the goal was to get yards and go vertical and be physical. We did that. I failed to accomplish the mission of staying on my own feet, but next time that happens, it will be a different story.”
Before his hamstring issue first flared up, Skattebo was projected to compete with No. 1 running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. for a significant amount of snaps this season. Skattebo is now listed third on the team’s unofficial depth chart behind Tracy and Devin Singletary, and ahead of Dante “Turbo” Miller, who has been turning heads.
“Hopefully, every day he can do a little bit more throughout these next two weeks,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said of Skattebo during a Zoom conference call with reporters earlier on Aug. 22.
Cam Skattebo and Jaxson Dart
Skattebo refuses to look too far into the future, especially when he is asked about his friendship with Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and how he can envision each of them becoming focal points of the New York offense.
“Yeah, there are conversations,” Skattebo said. “I talk to (quarterback) Russ (Wilson) and I talk to Jameis (Winston) and I talk to (Tommy) DeVito and also Jaxson. … We have to understand it takes all of us to become great. And no matter what day it is or what hour it is of the day, we’ve got to understand that no matter who’s back there, we’ve got to make sure we’re pushing.
“You’ve got to live in the present. Whatever is happening right now is what’s happening. Obviously, there’s talks as friends, but we try to focus on the present at the moment.”
Skattebo, though, said he has been developing a close bond with Dart, the first-year signal caller out of Ole Miss.
“Every day I come into the building I talk to him every morning,” he said. “We sit right next to each other as locker room mates and I continue to push him just like he continues to push me. He’ll make a play in practice and I’ll tell him, 'Good job.'
"And I’ll tell him, ‘Bad job’ on the one he messed up on. We keep it real with each other."
What Skattebo admires about Dart, he said, is the young quarterback’s professionalism.
“I’ll call him 7:30, maybe 8 o’clock at night sometimes,” Skattebo said, “and I’m expecting a pick up on the phone like, ‘Hey, Skatt. What are you doing?’ And I’ll get a hang up and a text back saying, ‘Hey, I’m in the office right now studying.’ Just certain things like that, you start to how much he really cares about the game.
“The amount of love he has for the game and that he cares for it, you see it in his eyes when he’s on the field. You saw it when he got out of the game. He was a little upset. He didn’t like being out of the game. He likes to play. He just loves the game. He loves his teammates. He loves football and he wants to be as successful as anybody else on the football field.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU football icon Cam Skattebo talks New York Giants debut
Category: Football
