There was already a sense of greatness with an image of legend about Cam Skattebo before he even walked the halls of Rio Linda High School.
He was the short back with the big heart, the little guy with enormous effort, the driven kid who scowled as he barreled downfield and then lit up the room later with his grin. Even at 8 years old as a youth football player in a town that embraces its sports teams and student-athletes, the Skattebo legacy and name was growing.
Then Jack Garceau got a close-up peek at the kid and did a double-take.
“He was a guy we just knew we had to bring up to varsity before his sophomore year, a guy who was always trying to do something different than anyone else, determined to be great,” the longtime Rio Linda varsity football coach said this week on the eve of the NFL draft, Skattebo’s next step in his remarkable football journey.
“After the first day of spring football drills, with no shoulder pads, he was the most competitive player I’d ever seen. I went home and told my wife (Amanda) — wow. Fourteen years old, and he wanted to do drills again and again if he didn’t win one, and I thought, ‘Yeah! Keep going! Impose your will!’”
Skattebo is still imposing that will. The will to achieve, to let opponents know that they’d endure his bullish running style, including leaving foes with welts and bruises as a player who sought out contact just for the thrill of it, knowing his momentum and steam would bowl that guy over.
Sacramento State running back Cameron Skattebo (4) cheers on the Hornets defense with the home crowd as they play in the final minutes against Incarnate Word (Texas) at the NCAA college football FCS playoffs quarterfinal game in 2022 at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento. Skattebo is projected to be selected in the 2025 NFL draft. Xavier Mascareñas Sacramento Bee file
That happened plenty at Rio Linda, then at Sacramento State, then at Arizona State, and Skattebo’s expected selection this week in the NFL draft is among the biggest storylines of curiosity. He has always run with purpose, with anger, as a guy who represents the underdog.
Can this bowling ball of a back at 5-foot-10 and 220 pounds keep this up against the big boys? Will he finally met his match? Don’t doubt the guy, Garceau and others say.
The proof is in the product, in person and on film. He showcased examples of his athleticism in the NFL combine, where he produced a 39.5-inch vertical leap.
But is he fast enough to breakaway in the NFL? He was in high school and college, and his 40-yard dash times at his NFL pro day workout, clocked between 4.53 and 4.57 seconds, shows he can scoot. He’s even faster with a ball in his hands. Skattebo will get drafted, and he’s been projected by various sources to go on Day 2 on Friday or Day 3 on Saturday, the second through seventh rounds. His family will be bunkered in a house in Arizona to await the call with the draft held in Green Bay.
Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cameron Skattebo (4) rushes for a touchdown against the USC Trojans in the first half Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Rob Schumacher The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
“Ladies and gentlemen,” NFL Network analyst Kyle Brandt said on air recently, “I am not going to sit here and hear the name Cameron Skattebo in the same sentence as ‘deceptively fast’ or ‘sneaky athletic.’ There is nothing sneaky about a 40-inch vertical jump; 39.5 this guy just jumped.
“That is better than (former or current NFL runners) Adrian Peterson, than Jamaal Charles, than Marshawn (Lynch). It’s better than Christian McCaffrey, who I personally thought drove a stake through the entire heart of the ‘sneaky athletic’ joke industry.”
Skattebo rushed for regional prep record yardage
Skattebo since his youth has made a joke of the defenses geared to slow him down. He was coached by his father, Leonard, in his early days as a football player, running the ball, filling in at quarterback if needed, and playing all over the field on defense.
Skattebo has been cheered on by his mother, Becky, in every game he’s played. He was inspired to follow his brother, Leo, as a college football player. Leo played at Bowling Green. Skattebo’s father and siblings all graduated from Rio Linda, calling it their home.
A downhill runner since the start, Skattebo is not just a rumbler with burst. He can block. He can pass the ball after a taking a handoff, and he can punt and catch the ball, all things he did in high school, at Sacramento State and at Arizona State, where he earned All-American honors in 2024.
At Rio Linda, Skattebo produced one of the most remarkable careers in the history of Northern California prep football.
As a sophomore varsity starter, Skattebo rushed for 992 yards and nine touchdowns. As a junior, he amassed mind-boggling numbers: 3,550 yards rushing and 42 touchdowns. He was never more determined or proud than when he steamrolled San Gorgonio of San Bernardino County for 393 yards and three touchdowns to key his Knights to a 38-35 victory in the CIF State 5-A championship, a 2018 home game with an overflow crowd. Skattebo was The Sacramento Bee’s Offensive Player of the Year that season.
Rio Linda’s Cameron Skattebo (5) runs the ball 10 yards during the first quarter in the CIF State Division 5-AA championship football game between Rio Linda High School and San Gorgonio at Rio Linda High School in 2018. Daniel Kim Sacramento Bee file
As a prep senior, with defenses loading the box on the line of scrimmage, Skattebo ran for 1,650 yards and 18 scores. Skattebo rushed for 6,192 yards and 69 scores at Rio Linda in 39 games, the most ever in the Sacramento region and fourth most in Northern California history, according to data compiled over the decades by Cal-Hi Sports.
“Incredible career for us at Rio Linda,” said Garceau, the school’s football coach. “We couldn’t believe what we were watching.”
Sac State only college to offer a scholarship
Sacramento State was the only school to offer Skattebo a scholarship, the thinking from other college football offices across the country that the guy may not be quick enough or tough enough to handle the heat. College football is not to be confused with Rio Linda’s schedule, the thinking went.
Skattebo proved to be quick enough. All he wanted was a chance, and he got it with the Hornets, rushing for 1,892 yards over two-plus seasons, dazzling home crowds with his ferocity and instincts — including scooping up a late onside kick in a game and racing 42 yards for the touchdown, opponents bouncing off of him.
Sacramento State Hornets running back Cameron Skattebo (4) runs with the ball after recovering an onside kick against University of the Incarnate Word (Texas) during the fourth quarter of the NCAA college football FCS playoffs quarterfinal game Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento. The Cardinals beat the Hornets, 66-63. Xavier Mascareñas Sacramento Bee file
During practices, it was common for Skattebo to approach Bee journalists with a smile, his hand stroking his manicured beard, and saying, “Wait until you see what’s coming on Saturday night!”
Skattebo explained while at Sacramento State his desire to seek contact. His approach and results made him a crowd favorite at all of his stops. Sacramento State and Arizona State fans wore Skattebo jerseys to games and around town.
“It’s nerves,” Skattebo said of his contact thinking. “I have this nervous thing about me until I’m able to hit someone in a game, and then it felt good. That initial hit on someone makes me feel good.”
Said then-Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor in 2022 to The Bee, “When we saw him in high school, it was a slam dunk. I couldn’t believe everyone wasn’t offering a scholarship. He has a great spirit, talent, a real zest for life and football. This was a no-brainer to get him. We’ve got to get this guy.”
Said former Hornets quarterback Jake Dunniway that season, “He’s a walking highlight. You can’t wait to see what he does next.”
When Taylor left to coach Stanford following a 12-1 season in 2022, Skattebo entered the transfer portal and landed at Arizona State, curious to see if he could still impact a game at the highest level of the college game.
He did.
‘He mauls people’
Skattebo immediately helped elevate the Sun Devils’ fortunes of a so-so team to a powerhouse in his two seasons in Tempe. He rushed for 2,494 yards, including 1,711 yards and 605 yards receiving and 25 total scores in 2024, when he was fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, which annually goes to the top college football player in the land.
In a 39-31 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Peach Bowl in January, Skattebo was magnificent on the big stage of the College Football Playoffs. He rushed for 143 yards, had 99 yards receiving, scored three times and even threw a 42-yard touchdown strike.
Arizona State offensive lineman Leif Fautuna said to media during the season, “Blocking for Skat — who’s very emotional, very passionate when he’s on the field — is a blessing. When he’s running, all we have to do is clear a path, and he’ll do the rest — especially in short yardage situations. He mauls people over to pick up first downs.”
So can he play in the NFL?
Skattebo has left a wake of run-over players who might say so. His ASU coach Kenny Dillingham last season could already see that potential, and he challenged his star to meet expectations.
“I told Cam after last year, ‘Listen, if you want to be a Sunday player (in the NFL), you have to get better, because right now, you’re not one,’” he told Arizona media early in the 2024 season. “I challenged him to drop weight, get in better shape, get faster and control your passion — channel your passion the right way. And he’s done everything I’ve asked. Right now, he looks like a Sunday player.”
Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo (4) runs past Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) and Texas linebacker Liona Lefau (18) during the third quarter of the College Football Playoffs’ Peach Bowl in Atlanta Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. Michael Chow/The Republic USA TODAY NETWORK
Easy to root for
Rio Linda coaches recall Skattebo as a workhorse in the weight room, and one can gauge a man’s heart with how he lifts.
“Cam would work out with a personal trainer at 5 in the morning, then he’d come to our first-period weight lifting and lift with the team,” said Garceau, the school’s football coach. “Those are the great things he did on the side. He attacked the weight room every day, like he does everything else even now. He’s still Top 5 all time here for every category — bench press, squat, dead lift, power clean — and that includes the big dudes, the linemen.
“In games, he prided himself in wearing guys out. I saw it at Arizona State, this thinking that, ‘I’m going to put you through the end zone.’ He’s had that me against the world mentality, and he’s always wanted to be great, and he is.”
Rio Linda’s Cameron Skattebo looks for defenders during Center’s 48-40 win Friday night, Aug. 23, 2019. Jason Pierce Sacramento Bee file
Garceu said Skattebo is easy to root for, a star who blends in a crowd as an everyman and then stands above in games. Skattebo’s in-game intensity belies his off-field kindness. Skattebo goes out of his way after games to visit with fans of all ages, be it in high school or college. Garceau saw it first hand at all stops, including when he attended ASU games. The coach was moved by Skattebo’s effort to reach those fans to say hello, take photos and to sign autographs.
“Everyone loves him,” Garceau said. “He’s going to keep doing this in the NFL. We’re all excited here.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 12:54 PM.
