Cam Skattebo made his long anticipated preseason debut for the New York Giants on Thursday night. The fourth-round pick had 12 yards off three carries during the teams 42-10 victory over the New England Patriots.
Skattebo was grateful to be on the field again. “Felt great to be out there and finally get back to it,” Skattebo said while speaking with the media on Friday.
The rookie running back had missed the previous two games, and most of training camp, with a bothersome hamstring injury. The recovery process was a new experience for Skattebo, having never experienced that injury during his time at Arizona State. Still, Skattebo’s positive attitude helped him navigate the difficult process.
“I had a few good days and then an issue with an injury, football is football, it happens,” Skattebo said. “The main thing is you have to keep a positive mindset and make sure that you’re not letting it dwell on your daily life. I continue to come in here every day and try to get better.”
While experiencing a setback initially, Skattebo was able to able to work back to ensure he was able to get some preseason reps in.
“The mindset the whole way through was, ‘Get healthy,’” Skattebo said. “That was the main thing. If it took me six weeks, it took me six weeks. Every day is better. I’m getting better every day. “I was able to get some snaps in the game, and I felt great. I’m going to keep working on becoming more healthy and keeping my routine right.”
With it being his first action in an NFL game, Skattebo still had to get his footing. During his first rushing attempt, the running back stumbled, falling face first into the MetLife Stadium turf. It was a moment that he heard about from his teammates.
“You fall on your own face, everybody gives you a little crap for it,” he said. “First carry in the league and I’m just getting my feet underneath me and that one I got caught up. It was a great experience and I can’t wait for more.”
The significance behind that first attempt was more than just the slip up by Skattebo, it also was highlighted by the player blocking in front of him. The Giants brought defensive tackle Elijah Chatman in at fullback to help open up some space. Chatman, who has experience playing fullback at SMU, is doing everything he can to make a case to be apart of the 53-man roster. It was something that Skattebo was excited about leading up to the game. “Yeah, he’s been great,” Skattebo said of Chatman. “You get a 290-pound guy going full speed at a linebacker, we know who’s going to win that most of the time. I was getting Chat riled up before the game started. We knew what the first play was going to be: We knew Chat was going to hit somebody and I was going to get the ball, so I told him, ‘Let’s go. Let’s take somebody’s head off.’ “We understood the goal was to get yards and go vertical and be physical. We did that. I failed to accomplish the mission of staying on my own feet, but next time that happens, it will be a different story.”
0 CommentsSee More:
