We talk a lot about football in this publication, primarily because I’m a football guy- I grew up in a football family… My dad coached, and my brother played. I played for the Rio Linda Falcons growing up and played four years of ball at Rio Linda High School until graduating in 1987. Heck, I even convinced someone I was good at it, earning All-Sierra Foothill League 1st Team honors in 86/87.
These days, I cover our Knights for Rio Linda Online, and for the past 3 years I’ve been the public address announcer at Marion Adams Memorial Stadium, and I do what I can for the team when asked or when there’s something I won’t screw up.
My football career was nothing like Cameron Skattebo’s. We both played youth football in Rio Linda, but coming from a football family takes on a totally different meaning with the Skattebo bunch.
Dad Leo Skattebo, Sr. was a 3-sport star at Rio Linda in the early 90s. He had 3 interceptions and one touchdown reception against El Dorado in 1992, which also gave head coach Michael Morris his first win with the Knights.
Brother Leo Skattebo, Jr. also excelled in football at Rio Linda. “Little Leo” was part of the stacked 2012 and 2013 teams which also featured standout running back Marcel Brown. He was also a 2012 and 2013 All-Metro player. He would later go on to play at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Cameron Skattebo, while still being an outstanding football player (as is the family tradition) is something entirely MORE.
Cam began playing in the Junior Knights youth program when he was as young as 5 years old. Of course, he couldn’t play at 5 years old, but he was on the sidelines every week. Once he turned 6, you couldn’t keep him off the field. As he progressed, coaches and parents took notice. It wasn’t just Cam- It was the team, the group of kids he played with. Mike Morris once told me that they had had their eyes on this group for a long time.
In 2018, behind Cameron’s 3550 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns, the Rio Linda Knights won the CIF State D5 Championship.
In his 3-year Varsity career, Cameron amassed 6192 rushing yards and 69 touchdowns. He averaged 9.9 yards per carry. Oh, and he caught 649 yards worth of passes for another 10 touchdowns. He was All-Metro Honorable Mention in 2017, All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year in 2018, and All-Metro 1st Team in 2019.
Despite these facts and statistics, Cameron didn’t get a lot of interest from College scouts. Ultimately he got the call from Sacramento State. COVID came around and put a stop to life for a while, but when players could tackle the gridiron again, Cam picked up right where he left off.
In the 2022 season, Cam ran himself into the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year award by running for 1,373 yards and 12 touchdowns between rushing, receiving, and returning.
The kid even tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass in the playoffs versus Incarnate Word.
I could list ALL of his accomplishments and awards, but it’s been done elsewhere by writers who are honestly much better at it.
After the 2022 Sac State Hornets season, Head Coach Troy Taylor exited for a new opportunity at Stanford. Cameron took this opportunity to enter the NCAA transfer portal and find out who’d been watching. Arizona State lept at the chance to bring Cam to Tempe for a visit, and Cam lept at the opportunity to join the Sun Devils.
Earlier this week, Cameron was listed at the top of the depth chart, and ArizonaSports.com says that Cameron is expected to receive the majority of carries in the Sun Devils’ new and improved backfield.
“You don’t want to hit him. You don’t want to be anywhere near him. He’s going to intimidate people. He’s very intense at practice.”
Chris Karpman, Sun Devil Source
The Arizona State Sun Devils will debut their new era under first-time head coach Kenny Dillingham tonight against Southern Utah at Mountain America Stadium, Home of the ASU Sun Devils in Tempe. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks. Game time is 7pm PDT.
Pac-12 Networks is available via Xfinity, and Dish locally.
Sling TV, fubo, and Vidgo all stream the Pac-12 Network live on Smart TVs and streaming devices without the need for a cable or satellite subscription.
Only Fubo offers a free 7-day trial, but you need the Sports Extra (for out-of-market), or Fubo Extra add-on (for in-market subscribers).
