EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — The helmet decal never stood a chance.
The combination of a steady rainfall at MetLife Stadium and repeated headbutts between New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo and his teammates,
not to mention the former Arizona State star constantly initiating contact during a rugged performance against the Tennessee Titans, left the white “NY” logo on the left side of Skattebo’s blue helmet dangling for dear life.
And it was only the first quarter of the Giants’ 12-7 Week 3 victory.
“Yeah, my equipment manager kept coming to me and saying, ‘I need to fix your sticker. I need to fix your sticker,’ ” Skattebo told The Arizona Republic during a telephone interview after Giants’ practice on Friday, Oct. 2. “I’m like, ‘Just leave the damn sticker off’ because it had come off a couple times and it was kind of bothering me. I was like, ‘Dude, just leave the damn sticker off because it’s going to fall off anyway.’ ”
Would-be tacklers have the same type of luck trying to cling to Skattebo. They tried to stick to him during his fascinating career with the Sun Devils and they’re trying to do the same thing now in the NFL, but he keeps shaking them loose like a woolly mammoth against a pack of pesky hyenas.
It’s that punishing, battering-ram style that has lifted him into a sort of national icon status.
“I’m glad I don’t have to tackle him,” said Arizona Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur, whose team meets Skattebo and the Giants Sunday, Oct. 4. “He’s a big boy and our guys know that. I have a lot of respect for his game. I don’t know him personally, but he’s a load so we’ve got our hands full.”
So does the rest of the NFL now that Skattebo is back to his hellbent, helter-skelter play after missing half his rookie season last year following a devastating ankle injury. Skattebo had 100 yards from scrimmage against the Titans, ranks fifth in the league in rushing yards after contact (178), per Next Gen Stats, and he’s become the focal point of the offense for the Giants.
That was born out of necessity when New York lost mobile starting quarterback Jaxson Dart to a season-ending knee injury against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2. It wasn’t just a gut punch for the Giants, but an emotional hit for Skattebo, who forged a close friendship with the QB almost from the moment they arrived together as rookies.
“It’s hit me hard, especially this last week and a half — losing him, not having him in the building, not seeing him every day,” Skattebo said. “As a player, you lose your teammate, but I lost my best friend in the building. It’s hard to get your head space right of losing that person but you’ve got to continue to battle.
"And this is business so you’ve got to work as hard as you can to execute as best as you can.”
Giants' Cam Skattebo says the touchdown drought will end
With veteran backup Jameis Winston as the starting quarterback and J.J. McCarthy now on the roster following his trade from the Minnesota Vikings, the business at hand for Skattebo and the Giants is finding a way to get back into the end zone. They haven’t had a touchdown since scoring four of them during their Week 1 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
“We’re going to get into the end zone this week, that’s for sure,” Skattebo predicted. “Whether it’s someone else or me ... if you don’t score a lot of touchdowns, you probably aren’t going to win a lot of football games.”
Skattebo openly shed tears when the Giants selected him in the fourth round of last year’s draft and he quickly came to love the New York/New Jersey area.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been some getting used to, though,” he said. “People out here are different. They tell you how it is. They’ll talk crap. They’re nice to you if you’re good, they’re mean to you if you’re mean. I really like the vibe that’s out here and just living out here is amazing.
“But Arizona will be home forever, and I’m really excited to get back when I get my chances.”
Skattebo said one of his best-kept secrets about his passion for living in Arizona have been his peaceful trips to Bartlett Lake, about 50 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix.
“I’d go up there on the Fourth of July, spend time on the pontoon boat with my girlfriend, dogs, some family members and friends,” he said. “When I look back at it, those are the things that I miss about Arizona — being able to just get out, go to the water on a hot summer day, play and hang out.
“It’s underestimated how well the living outside of home and outside of football is when you’re there. That was like my most joy I’ve ever had playing football because it was a fun time outside the building, too, not just inside of it.”
ASU legend Skattebo a future Sun Devils coach?
Skattebo said he still talks regularly with former ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt, who is now at LSU.
“I got really tight with Sam when he was in Arizona with me,” he said. “We built a really good connection next to each other, pretty similar to me and Jaxson. It was just that trust we had in each other and knowing he was going to make a play.”
Skattebo also stays in constant contact with ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham, whom he says is a person “who will stick around for a long time with me.”
“He texted me like a week ago just telling me, ‘Good luck,’ and that he’s watching and telling me to keep grinding and making sure I’m staying on top of my stuff,” Skattebo said. “He did a lot for me.
“I’m planning on coming back and hopefully being able to coach for him and help him out. Hopefully, one day he’ll have a running back job open and maybe I’ll be able to coach there so we’ll see.”
All that matters at the moment for Skattebo is piledriving ahead one day and one game at a time. He said he’s in a much better place mentally since recovering from last year’s major injury that made him contemplate a very early retirement. Not anymore.
“It’s football,” Skattebo explained. “Injuries are going to come to anyone, sadly. It’s a physical sport, it’s hard on your body and it’s demanding. I knew at some point something was going to happen. I obviously pray every day that it doesn’t, but the way I play football and the way I approach the game, things are going to happen.
“You’re right, I did get into a dark kind of space, but I was able to get through that with friends and family surrounding me with good thoughts, happy thoughts. I was able to get back into my groove and find the love for football again. It’s been downhill running ever since.”
He isn’t going to change the way he plays, either, even though many NFL analysts and some former NFL players have suggested it will shorten his career if he doesn’t.
“Nope. Absolutely not,” Skattebo said about changing his game.
As for his patented celebratory backflips, well, those might now be on hold, Skattebo said.
“But if the time comes, I’m going to have to do it if it’s a big moment or a big time in the game,” he said. “If it happens it happens. But I’m not really planning on doing it — unless I need to.”
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic .Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
Sign up for our free newsletters at https://profile.azcentral.com/newsletters/manage/ for complete coverage.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cam Skattebo talks Cardinals game, ASU, coaching | Exclusive
