Steve Sarkisian thought Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo was another Mike Alstott but Sun Devils star is much more
Count Steve Sarkisian among those who heard and believed one thing about Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo. Then, the Texas coach turned on the tape and saw something completely different. Skattebo was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He was listed as a fullback. Those types of players can only do certain things, or […]
Count Steve Sarkisian among those who heard and believed one thing about Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo. Then, the Texas coach turned on the tape and saw something completely different.
Skattebo was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He was listed as a fullback. Those types of players can only do certain things, or so goes the traditional thinking.
Skattebo is anything but traditional, though.
The fifth-seeded Longhorns (12-2) should be ready for anything. The Texas defense ranks 10th nationally against the run and has allowed more than 100 yards only once in the last five games.
WATCH AND SUBSCRIBE: Follow A to Z Sports’ Texas Longhorns channel on YouTube.
“I think this: he’s a really versatile player,” Sarkisian said. “I think when you first turn on Cam’s tape you’re thinking you’re just going to see Mike Alstott; you’re just going to see this bruiser that’s just running into the line of scrimmage and bouncing off of people.
“Then the more you watch him, you’re like, man, this guy has got really good feet. This guy has got great contact balance. This guy, right when you think he’s getting to run somebody over, he makes them miss. He uses his stiff arm. He's really good in the open field. He can run away from you.
“Then all of a sudden, you’re like, but wait a minute, this guy catches the ball really well out of the backfield,” the coach added. “He’s got really good initial quickness after the catch to get vertical. So he’s a really versatile player.”
Steve Sarkisian held strong ‘come to Jesus’ meeting with Longhorns to cut down on penalties
Make no mistake, Texas’ inability to cash in good field position for touchdowns is what cost the Longhorns in the SEC championship game. You can’t win by kicking field goals. Penalties played a huge role in short-circuiting drives, pushing the offense back and causing major headaches for coach Steve Sarkisian. In the days leading up […]
Skattebo ranks fifth nationally in rushing this season with 1,568 yards. He’s scored 19 touchdowns. Pro Football Focus graded him as Arizona State’s highest-performing offensive player on the entire roster this season.
Simply put, Skattebo put the Sun Devils on his back and carried them to the Big 12 championship under coach Kenny Dillingham.
“I was hoping he was going to be kind of a one-dimensional guy, when you just kind of watch SportsCenter and different things,” Sarkisian said. “But all of a sudden, you start looking at the cut-up of him and the explosive plays and how they're happening, his versatility is probably the thing that stands out to me the most.”
