This story was originally published on April 15, 2023.
The Arizona State Sun Devils competed in their first spring game as a team under the new regime of coach Kenny Dillingham Saturday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium.
Junior tailback Cameron Skattebo, a Sacramento State transfer, was the star of the Team Maroon squad under the guest coaching of former NFL player and “Bussin’ with the Boys” host Will Compton.
Skattebo is only one of the 43 new faces in Tempe who appeared in the Spring Game. And finally, they played a real game together.
“I moved out here with nobody,” Skattebo said. “I came out here and took a risk on myself. We still haven’t played a real football game but today I showed a little bit of what I can do.”
In Skattebo’s sophomore season with Sacramento State, he was named First Team All-Big Sky and the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year. After hitting the transfer portal, coach Shaun Aguano was the first to call.
“I hit the transfer portal on a Monday and he texted me by Tuesday,” Skattebo said. “He flew up to my house and came to say hi and wanted to meet my family. That was pretty big on him wanting me right away.”
Before going to the transfer portal, Skattebo recorded 1,373 rushing yards and averaged 105.6 yards per game. Although there were no live stats for the Spring Game, he collected over 100 all-purpose yards and a rushing touchdown in the seven-minute quarter contest.
Skattebo shared the backfield with three quarterbacks on Team Maroon: redshirt freshman Bennett Meredith, sophomore Jacob Conover, and senior Trenton Bourguet.
Although there were only 28 minutes of gameplay, the drives with Bourguet in shotgun with Skattebo right next to him were the bread and butter. Nevertheless, Skattebo always found his hands on the ball.
“I want to be an every-down back,” Skattebo said. “I want to be on the field the whole time. I take a punishment everytime I touch the football so I give it to myself and they give it to me. That’s how I run the football.”
The Sun Devils looked primed and ready to go in a short delight. Unfortunately, Sun Devil Stadium did not draw the crowd that Dillingham hoped for, but his goal of a college football town is still alive with the program he is rebuilding.
This Sun Devil football team will be a competitive team in the Pac-12 for the 2023 season.
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