Big Blue View
From running into telephone poles to running over defenders, there is no one quite like this rookie running back
Skat plays.
That is what former Arizona State quarterback Trenton Bourguet, now a member of the Sun Devils coaching staff, calls plays that probably only could, or would, be made by former Sun Devil and now New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo.
“I’m with the running backs here at Arizona State [as a coach]. I’ve been making a cut-up, we call them ‘Skat plays’, plays that were great plays but if it was ‘Skat’ it would have been very tough to do, Bourguet said.
“I think the cut-up I made was easily over a hundred and fifteen plays where it’s just [if] he gets five yards it’s a great play and then 30 yards later and five tackles later that he broke, that’s a Skat play. That’s just something that he does.”
Those plays are also why the Giants, with toughness as an emphasis throughout the 2025 NFL Draft, made the 5-foot-9, 219-pound Skattebo their fourth-round pick, No. 105 overall.
Bourguet does have a couple of favorite Skat plays.
“I saw him break two crazy runs against Utah this past year that were unbelievable. You think it’s going to be a two- or three-yard gain and he makes some jump cuts here and there and then stiff arms a defender off like he’s playing against little kids,” Bourguet said. “The Big 12 Championship Game, the first carry I think he went for like 60 yards, just breaking six, seven tackles.”
Skattebo loves the contact so much that Bourguet said he would seek it out even when it wasn’t necessary.
“He was the type of guy who if he was 10 yards away from the end zone he could easily just jog into the end zone but he would slow down on purpose to let that last defender come and give him a hit stick or something like that,” Bourguet said.
That shouldn’t come as a shock. Skattebo used to run into telephone poles for fun.
After he was selected by the Giants, Skattebo told media that he has had the same “run over everything in sight” mentality since he began playing.
“You can go back, watch some film from back in the day. It’s always been a very physical game for me,” Skattebo said. “Since the age of six years old, I’ve been doing the same thing. Throughout my life I’ve stuck with the path that I’ve put myself on, and it’s working out. I’m going to continue to do that because that’s what is bringing me success.”
Skattebo’s nickname is “Nature Boy,” after legendary professional wrestler Ric Flair.
“No, it was something that I did in high school when I ran someone over... I would do the ‘Ric Flair Woo,’” Skattebo said. “One of my good friends told me to do that, and we kind of got that started. It was something that he and I connected over and...
