Arizona State football’s Cam Skattebo ruled out vs. UCF, Kyson Brown to start

Arizona State football will face UCF on Saturday without star running back Cam Skattebo due to injury, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro confirmed on Friday.

National college football reporter Brandon Marcello first reported Skattebo will miss the game at Mountain America Stadium with a shoulder issue.

ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Friday morning Skattebo was considered a game-time decision.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to try to tell him to not play, because we got to get him 100%, we got to get him healthy,” Dillingham said. “He’s a guy who’s going to want to play, he’s going to want to push himself to get on the field. I definitely want to be the guy that tells him we got to get you healthy for the last three, the last two, whatever that is.”

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham told @Bickley_Marotta that RB Cam Skattebo is still "doubtful … questionable" to play with an undisclosed injury.

"He's going to be a gametime decision. I'm going to do whatever I can to try to tell him to not play, because we got to get… pic.twitter.com/QeWBoOUvgK

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 8, 2024

Skattebo is seventh in the nation with 1,001 rushing yards in eight games played, and he is second in all-purpose yards only trailing Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.

The Sun Devil has won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week four times already.

Kyson Brown to start at RB with Skattebo out for Arizona State

Skattebo’s absence will open opportunities for sophomore Kyson Brown, who ran for 63 yards on 15 rushes and scored two touchdowns last week against Oklahoma State. Redshirt senior DeCarlos Brooks also stands to see increased reps.

“(Brown) becomes more of the feature back, him and DeCarlos will take on a lot of the load,” Dillingham said. “Kyson obviously got a lot of the load last week. We really tried to get him more involved. If (Skattebo is) out … those guys got to step up. And that’s the nature of this sport.”

“For the most part, there’s not much in regards to the scheme that will change,” offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said Wednesday. “(Brown’s) done a good job for us. He understands the protections, he understands the run game, he understands the pass game. He’s got critical skills on all downs.

“He’s got a big opportunity. We’re all excited for him.”

Arroyo added Skattebo’s injury gave ASU a preview of what life will be like after the star’s Sun Devil tenure is up at the end of this season.

“I think our guys, the ownership of the group and the mentality of the unit needs to understand that collectively we need to step up and … find ways to win,” Arroyo said.

The Sun Devils and Knights will kick off at 5 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app with pregame coverage from the State of the Sun Devils Podcast beginning at 2 p.m. 

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