Kenny Dillingham joined Arizona State starting in the 2023 season, which saw the team finishing 3-9 overall in the Pac-12. Surely, there were questions abound about Dillingham’s abilities to lead in the capacity of head coach for the first time in his career. Dillingham didn’t pay much heed to that and started preparing for the 2024 season. A season etched in Sun Devils’ history for quite some time. For this wasn’t just the season they made it to the playoffs. But, it was a story of a program starting to dream.

Their hero? None other than Cam Skattebo. A player who showed that there may come a time when all the superlatives can come short for him. A season where he couldn’t stop producing those runs, those touchdowns, and those magical moments that just became immortalized. He provided an unworldly performance against Texas in a game widely dubbed as one of the greatest playoff games of all time. 284 yards, two rushing touchdowns, one passing touchdown, and a two-point conversion don’t even describe him in that game. It was the display of a true maestro at work, a performance plucked right from footballing folklore.

No wonder he earned the MVP in the game despite his team losing it in overtime (a thriller, of course). The award not only celebrated Kenny Dillingham’s incredible turnaround of a season but also announced his arrival with a statement. Cam Skattebo finished his incredible season with 1,711 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, apart from his 605 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. Now, he is looking to move into the pro football arena and is one of the most exciting prospects of this year’s draft. His coach was asked the same in the Big 12’s recent pro day event.

Rhett Lewis asked Kenny Dillingham about Cam Skattebo not participating in the pro day and the abilities that separate him from the stock. “He’s so competitive that everything he does is going to want to do it full speed. He’s going to want to do it with a passion; he’s going to want to be the very best, and I think that’s the thing. There are competitive people, and then there are people who want to be the best at everything. They want to be the center of everything. I mean, the contact, balance, the grit, all that stuff is what separates him. And I just can’t wait. Some team is going to draft him. Some team’s fan base is going to get really excited about drafting him. There’s gonna be a lot of jerseys sold and a lot of touchdowns.”

Skattebo did participate in the NFL Combine and was measured to be around 5 foot 9 1/2 and 219 lbs. He also recorded an impressive vertical jump of 39.5 inches, which was fifth-best overall and second-best in his position. His performance in the NFL Scouting Combine not only took his stock to a whole other level. But also may have cemented his place as the first-round pick. However, some recent drafts still tout him as a later-round prospect due to some of his weaknesses, which may become pronounced in the NFL.

Cam Skattebo’s Pro Day snub affecting his draft stock?

One of the major weaknesses of Skattebo is his susceptibility to induce heavy collisions. That may have come to his advantage in the CFB. The same can’t be said about the NFL. You play the best of the best every week, inviting collisions instead of evading them. This may come with its physical toll. Then, there is his lack of explosiveness in his runs and the ability to accelerate on a moment’s notice. Ball security is another issue scouts have highlighted. Lastly, his limited catch radius limits his ability as a dual threat. However, Kenny Dillingham had another take on his physicality.

“I mean, I look at guys like Maurice Jones-Drew in the past who are just super stocky guys that have a great contact balance. They may be weren’t going to go, run 4-3, but all of a sudden, you’re gonna be like, how did he average six yards per carry? They don’t give him any surface to hit at all. I think that’s kind of his style of play. He’s always gonna fall forward. He’s gonna be that chip that you’re talking about. I’m excited to see him at the next level.”

Surely, Coach Kenny Dillingham obviously knows the type of player Cam is. However, his Pro Day snub may still come with its complications, as his draft stock isn’t that great due to various teams not preferring him as their primary pick. Pro day appearance may have provided an incentive to perform and showcase to those NFL scouts why he deserves to be in the first round. Nevertheless, we have already seen what type of player Skatebbo is, and he is certainly looking like that wild card going into the draft.