'It's time to go': How Cam Skattebo was made for the first padded practice of Giants camp

EAST RUTHERFORD - Cam Skattebo hears you chanting his name, Giants fans.

And although the rookie running back wants to turn around and acknowledge the love he has already received from those in the stands here at training camp, the focus is on football - and it has to be that way.

Because when Skattebo is between the lines, he has one solitary goal that embodies just about everything he is as a player eager to prove his worth, expressed in this quote he gave NorthJersey.com and The Record following the first padded practice of the summer.

"Run people over and score touchdowns," Skattebo said with a smile, muddy grass stains on both digits of the No. 44 on his jersey from the wear and tear of the 95-minute practice. "That's the name of the game."

Yet what we have seen since Skattebo's arrival with the Giants is that there is more to his game than what is more mission statement than catch phrase, and the scouting report is far more complete than one might suggest.

His vision is exceptional. His contact balance is elite. He is instinctive as a receiver as well, showing soft hands and an ability to run a diverse route tree.

The only thing we had not seen yet from the 5-foot-9 1/2, 215-pound Skattebo through the first four camp practices was what everyone wants to see, and the waiting game ended Monday.

Skattebo's shoulder pads have been calling out to him for months in the ultimate tease, and the rookie got to finally answer Monday.

"The hard part was seeing them in my locker for the last three months, just sitting up there not being used," Skattebo said. "When I got there [Monday] morning, my jersey was already on 'em, it was like, 'All right, it's time to go.'"

Skattebo has earned his share of nicknames through the years. He was "Houdini" to his family for an ability to somehow escape car seats when he was in diapers with relative ease.

Skattebo used to watch WWE with his late grandfather, so in high school, teammates began referring to him as "Nature Boy," an homage to the 16-time world wrestling champion, Ric Flair. He embraced that so much, Skattebo would scream out Flair's trademark "Woo!" whenever he trucked a defender.

That happened so often, physicality became his calling card. It's the common thread in his game from the streets of his northern California hometown where he used to put on his other brother's helmet and shoulder pads and run into telephone poles and prove his toughness, to Sacramento State and then Arizona State, and now the Giants, who selected the running back with the 105th pick of the fourth round in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Once he got to college, Skattebo simply broke tackles or ran through defenders. Scouts have said he plays more like a linebacker than a running back. He does not shy away from contact, and was an icon in his California hometown even before, as a junior, he rushed for 3,550 yards and 42 touchdowns in a single season.

The numbers don't lie with Scattebo, screaming out what makes him rare at any level.

Like how 1,202 of his 1,712 rushing yards came after contact last season, or how he forced 103 missed tackles, second most in the nation. Scattebo had 45 runs of 10 or more yards and 21 runs of 15 or more yards with 21 touchdowns rushing and three touchdowns receiving.

"He just chooses violence - I don't know if I have ever seen a more aggressive runner who just seeks out contact and who can absorb contact," NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said of Skattebo during the draft process. "Gosh, more than anything, he reminds me of a Plinko chip from 'The Price is Right,' bouncing off everything and everybody."

Tyrone Tracy looks like a different player entering his second season - more confident, tremendous fluidity and burst - and Skattebo is already earning more and more reps to prove he can be an ideal complement. In Monday's session, Skattebo took a handoff from Jaxson Dart and, with a sweet cut to the right side, he raced through the pile and headed up field for a long gain.

It was his first touch of team drills, and with great anticipation, Skattebo delivered on that promise.

"I've hit 350-pound guys in college," Skattebo said. "They're not Dexter Lawrence, don't get me wrong. He's the best in the league, but I've hit those [other] guys. He's here for a reason, he's making the money he's making for a reason. I'm gonna continue to do me. If he's the one standing in my way, I'm gonna do everything in my power to get by him. Will it happen? I don't know until that day comes. You've gotta continue to play your game and run hard no matter who's in front of you with the same amount of force - a guy who's 300 pounds or a guy who's 180 pounds - I'm still gonna be me."

Skattebo has emerged as a weapon in the passing game early in camp. He caught a touchdown from Dart to end last Friday's practice in celebration, then came within the top of his right cleat of completing what would have been a spectacular TD reception - again on the final play of practice - on a tip drill, again from Dart.

"I haven't dropped a ball yet, so I hope so," Skattebo said about displaying his skill as a receiver. "I don't talk about it, I don't tell anybody, but my pride and joy is, 'Don't drop the ball,' [because] on game day the ball might come your way because you don't drop it. That's something I take pride in: not fumbling it and not dropping it."

The exhaustion was written on Skattebo's face after practice. He brings energy that has already made him a fan favorite. From being the centerpiece in Arizona State's run to the college football semifinals to his social media exchanges with Dart - like wearing his red No. 6 jersey over the weekend and their butting of helmets prior to stepping on the field for practice - Skattebo's popularity is only going to grow.

That is, if he becomes the player the Giants expect him to be.

"Once we get on the field, it's time to lock in," Skattebo said. "My deal is, I run myself into the ground every practice, every game. When it's time for me to go to bed, I go to sleep good."

Those shoulder pads with the No. 44 jersey pulled over them will be waiting for Skattebo in his locker once again Tuesday morning.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Cam Skattebo: Giants rookie was made for first padded practice of camp