'Everything you heard, it's all true': Inside the legend of new Giants RB Cam Skattebo

EAST RUTHERFORD – Cam Skattebo has earned his share of nicknames through the years.

He was “Houdini” to his family for an ability to somehow escape car seats when he was in diapers with relative ease.

Skattebo used to watch WWE with his late grandfather, so in high school, teammates began referring to him as “Nature Boy,” an homage to the 16-time world wrestling champion, Ric Flair. He embraced that so much, Skattebo would scream out Flair’s trademark “Woo!” whenever he trucked a defender.

That happened so often, physicality became his calling card. It’s the common thread in his game from the streets of his northern California hometown where he used to put on his other brother’s helmet and shoulder pads and run into telephone poles and prove his toughness, to Sacramento State and then Arizona State, and now the New York Giants, who selected the star running back with the 105th pick of the fourth round in the 2025 NFL Draft.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 07: Cam Skattebo #4 of the Arizona State Sun Devils celebrates with the championship belt – and WWE champion Jey Uso, left – after defeating the Iowa State Cyclones in the Big 12 Championship game at AT&T Stadium on December 07, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

“He just chooses violence – I don’t know if I have ever seen a more aggressive runner who just seeks out contact and who can absorb contact,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said of Skattebo. “Gosh, more than anything, he reminds me of a Plinko chip from ‘The Price is Right,’ bouncing off everything and everybody.”

Skattebo’s presence has been undeniable at every stop in his football journey. Now he’s headed to the Big Apple with the promise of becoming a Giant in every sense of the word.

Asked how he would describe his playing style, Skattebo said: “Physical, downhill, get-to-the-end-zone back. I love to score touchdowns. That’s what I do.”

The 5-foot-9 1/2, 219-pounder insists he has always played this way, joking that he barreled over a defender once or twice on the youth football fields of Rio Linda, California, at the age of 6.

Once he got to college, Skattebo simply broke tackles or ran through defenders. Scouts have said he plays more like a linebacker than a running back. He does not shy away from contact, and was an icon in his hometown even before, as a junior, he rushed for 3,550 yards and 42 touchdowns in a single season.

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“Everything you heard, it’s all true,” Jack Garceau, Skattebo’s high school coach in Rio Linda, told NorthJersey.com and The Record with a laugh on Monday. “Honestly, what you see is what you get. This is all earned, nothing given. He took the long road to get there. Absolutely zero short cuts, no backing down from anything. You give him the slightest opportunity, he’s gonna jump on it and I think he’s proven that so far. I saw a tweet the other day from somebody that said, ‘He looks like someone who would die for the franchise,’ and that’s exactly what you’re getting.”

He paused before adding: “Like I said, if you heard a story about Cam and how special he is, it’s true.”

So how does Skattebo go from the teenager who was told he was too small and too slow to play for USC, UCLA and others when the coaches came through Garceau’s office on recruiting visits to the best player on the field in the Big 12 Championship Game who wound up flexing his muscles and holding a title belt presented to him by WWE stars Jey Uso and Sami Zayn?

“I’ve been disrespected my whole life. I’ve always been the underdog,” Skattebo said. “Nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country. And I’m going to stand on that. I’m going to keep proving people wrong.”

At this point, the motivation is also about making the Giants right in their decision to draft him.

Skattebo was the engine of a team picked 16th out of 16 in the Big 12’s preseason poll, coming off consecutive 3-9 seasons, and he bulldozed his way in leading Arizona State to the biggest stage in the sport in the first year of the 12-team Playoff with an 11-2 record. Even after Arizona State lost to Texas, Skattebo had left an impression on all those who were watching – including scouts from the Giants, who started envisioning him in coach Brian Daboll’s offense – and in their locker room – from that moment on.

“One of our favorite players in the draft,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said. “Just the way he plays, the mentality he plays with, the toughness, the competitiveness, the grit. Good hands out of the backfield, as well. Just a darned good football player.”

Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (4) and Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) push each other during the second half of the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The numbers don’t lie with Scattebo, screaming out what makes him rare at any level.

Like how 1,202 of his 1,712 rushing yards came after contact last season, or how he forced 103 missed tackles, second most in the nation. Scattebo had 45 runs of 10 or more yards and 21 runs of 15 or more yards with 21 touchdowns rushing and three touchdowns receiving.

It was a long night Friday into Saturday morning, Schoen said, with Scattebo and fifth-round offensive lineman Marcus Mbow of Purdue sitting on the board. The Giants had to wait out two picks before deciding that Scattebo was their guy, the perfect backfield complement to last year’s impressive rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr.

“He’s tough as nails,” Daboll said of Scattebo, who gives off Ahmad Bradshaw vibes. “You can use him a variety of ways. Pass game, he can catch, he can run routes, he can throw the ball … and he’s got very good vision and quick feet. He’s a 220-pound back who runs with power and toughness.”

The relentlessness with which Scattebo plays was never more evident than on a run he had for Rio Linda High in the 2018 California 5-AA State Championship. He rushed for 396 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-35 victory, but one of those scoring jaunts stole the show. Scattebo broke a staggering 10 tackles on a 67-yard scamper in which it appeared every member of the San Gorgonio defense had a chance at dragging him down.

https://www.google.com/search?q=california+5-aa+state+championship+skattebo&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS1067US1067&oq=california+5-aa+state+championship+skattebo&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORigATIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigAdIBCTExNjMzajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:4719d2eb,vid:ukDl-I3mnqo,st:0

“You know what? I didn’t even count how many tackles he broke,” Garceau recalled with a laugh. “It was fun to watch live, and it was one of those things as you watched it, it was like, ‘What is going on?’ Felt like the play took a minute and a half to develop front to back. The blocking wasn’t outstanding, we had a few guys blocking here and there. but for the most part, that was a single guy effort. That’s who he is. If you could encapsulate his football career and his ability into one play, that would be it. I can tell you, everybody out here is a Giants fan now, and that’s something, considering this is 49ers country. But that’s who Cam Skattebo is.”

And that’s the legacy Cam Skattebo brings with him to the Big Apple, and he’ll do so with Giant expectations, just as he has since he used those telephone poles in his neighborhood as can’t-tackle-me dummies to show his worth.

Like it has always been, Skattebo promises to keep doing that: not only by proving himself to those who still doubt whether he can, but anyone who steps on the field and tries to stop him.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Cam Skattebo: Inside legend of NY Giants NFL Draft pick

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‘Everything you heard, it’s all true’: Inside the legend of new Giants RB Cam Skattebo

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