Steve Sarkisian thought Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo was another Mike Alstott but Sun Devils star is much more

“I think this: he’s a really versatile player,” Sarkisian said. “I think when you first turn on Cam’s tape you’re thinking you’re just going to see Mike Alstott; you’re just going to see this bruiser that’s just running into the line of scrimmage and bouncing off of people.

“Then the more you watch him, you’re like, man, this guy has got really good feet. This guy has got great contact balance. This guy, right when you think he’s getting to run somebody over, he makes them miss. He uses his stiff arm. He's really good in the open field. He can run away from you.

“Then all of a sudden, you’re like, but wait a minute, this guy catches the ball really well out of the backfield,” the coach added. “He’s got really good initial quickness after the catch to get vertical. So he’s a really versatile player.”

Skattebo ranks fifth nationally in rushing this season with 1,568 yards. He’s scored 19 touchdowns. Pro Football Focus graded him as Arizona State’s highest-performing offensive player on the entire roster this season.

Simply put, Skattebo put the Sun Devils on his back and carried them to the Big 12 championship under coach Kenny Dillingham.

“I was hoping he was going to be kind of a one-dimensional guy, when you just kind of watch SportsCenter and different things,” Sarkisian said. “But all of a sudden, you start looking at the cut-up of him and the explosive plays and how they're happening, his versatility is probably the thing that stands out to me the most.”