CFB Coach Questions If Giants' 'Battering Ram' Cam Skattebo Can Stay Healthy in NFL

Cam Skattebo was a breakout star from the 2024 college football season, but one coach is concerned about how the former Arizona State running back will make the transition to the NFL.

"Can he stay healthy?" the coach, who works at a Big 12 school, said to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "He's a battering ram and he's going to be hitting people who are a little different."

Physicality was a staple of Skattebo's game as he ran for 1,711 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. Per Patricia Traina of New York Giants On SI, he averaged 4.09 yards after contact and forced 103 missed tackles.

But power runners can be a mixed bag in the pros because the strength advantage they once enjoyed is mitigated or simply no longer exists.

At 5'9" and 219 pounds and having run a 4.65-second 40-yard dash leading up the draft, Skattebo isn't an outlier because of his frame and doesn't have elite athleticism. That's not an ideal combo.

Bleacher Report NFL scout Dame Parson compared the first-team All-American to the Los Angeles Rams' Kyren Williams.

"Without upper-echelon athletic traits, Skattebo will need to thrive off yards after contact, which is difficult to do in the NFL," Parson wrote. "Even though his movements are efficient, he is not a twitchy athlete, and if his feet are stopped, NFL defenders will box him behind or at the line of scrimmage."

Fans expecting to see the ASU version of Skattebo will likely be disappointed. In a lower-usage role, he could become an effective member of New York's backfield.

Over time, he may prove his skeptics wrong and warrant becoming the No. 1 ground option.