You ever watch a train wreck in slow motion? You know it’s coming, you brace for impact, and then—boom. That’s kinda what happened with ASU’s Cam Skattebo at his Pro Day. And right before that, Kenny Dillingham was out here talking about the exact same problem. Almost like he had a crystal ball or something. But hold up, before we get into that mess, let’s rewind a bit—because Dillingham had something real to say about a whole different issue, and it had the college football world buzzing.

On March 29th, right after ASU’s spring practice, Kenny Dillingham sat down with the media, and the conversation drifted to one of the most talked-about ideas in college football lately: inter-college spring games. Colorado’s Deion Sanders threw out the idea, Syracuse was all in, and the NCAA? Well, let’s just say they hit ’em with the Dikembe Mutombo ‘Not in my house’ block. When asked about it, Dillingham didn’t hold back.

“Yeah, I think it’d be awesome,” he admitted. “Practicing different schemes and getting different bodies out there, especially this time of year, could be a huge benefit. For us, it might even give us a chance to connect with a team we don’t play anymore—maybe a former rival from our old league—and bring back some of that tradition with a matchup like that. An old Pac-12 showdown would be a cool way to honor the history of the conference, almost like a legacy game in spring ball if the NCAA ever allowed it. I think it’d be a fun tradition to start.”

Coach Prime wasn’t on an island with this one. The idea was simple—ditch the glorified scrimmage that is the spring game and line up against another squad instead. Maybe even bring some fans into the mix. But the NCAA wasn’t hearing any of it. They shut it down faster than a no-name defender getting stiff-armed by Derrick Henry. The official reason? Competitive and recruiting advantages. But let’s be real—college football has never exactly been an even playing field.

So, instead of testing themselves against actual opponents, teams will go right back to scrimmaging against their own defense, hoping iron sharpens iron enough to be ready for the fall. And just as Dillingham was breaking down how crucial it is to compete at the highest level every single day, Cam Skattebo was about to learn that lesson the hard way.

Cam Skattebo’s Pro Day blunder

Let’s get one thing straight—Cam Skattebo is a dawg. The man runs angry, lowers the boom like a linebacker, and has been the heart of ASU’s offense. Over 1,700 yards of production, 21 touchdowns. Certified workhorse. But even the biggest dogs trip up sometimes, and unfortunately for Cam, his stumble came at the absolute worst moment—Pro Day. “Arizona State standout running back Cam Skattebo officially ran a 4.65 40-yard dash at his Pro Day today.”

That number hit like a gut punch. Not because 4.65 is unsalvageable but because perception is everything in the draft process. You can be a baller on the field, but if the stopwatch says you’re slow, suddenly scouts start treating you like you’ve got cinder blocks for cleats. And the worst part? Just minutes before, Kenny Dillingham had warned his guys about moments like this. “Have a day off. Lose in a one-on-one rep. It’s going on social media,” Dillingham had said. “You can’t just take a day off, because everybody’s going to see it.”

He wasn’t lying. The second Skattebo’s time hit the internet, the trolls came out like it was feeding time at the zoo. The fans were throwing shades like “Bro running like he got a refrigerator on his back,” and whatnot. But before anyone starts writing Cam off, let’s put some respect on history. Do you know who else ran a slow 40? Terrell Davis—Super Bowl champ, NFL MVP, 2,000-yard season club member. He is clocked a 4.7 and still torched the league. So, while this isn’t the best look for Skattebo, it also doesn’t mean he’s cooked.

Look, the biggest issue? The timing. The NFL is all about recency bias. Scouts and GMs are like goldfish with 15-second memories. They remember the last thing they saw, and right now, the last thing they saw was Skattebo getting dusted by the stopwatch. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a guy who’s put in the work and proven he can ball out on the field.

At the end of the day, Pro Day mishaps don’t define a career, but they do make the road to the league a little bumpier. Scouts can always watch Cam Skettabo’s Texas game if they ever have second thoughts.