Sam Leavitt gets ‘a little bit less pestering’ from ASU running backs with Cam Skattebo gone

TEMPE — Cam Skattebo lined up in the Arizona State backfield with Sam Leavitt on the vast majority of the quarterback’s snaps as a redshirt freshman.

Going into Year 2 as a starter, however, it appears there won’t be any one guy he gets used to lining up with. Rather, it’s Kyson Brown, Kanye Udoh and Raleek Brown looking like they’ll share primary running back duties.

“It’s no different for me,” Leavitt said after practice on Friday. “Skatt would always be back there talking to me, so you know, a little bit less pestering in my ear in a good way. That’s my guy.

“But you know, I’m just really proud of the group so far and … excited to see what they can do.”

The three running backs are unique archetypes from each other.

Kyson Brown brings an all-around skillset while Udoh is more of a smashmouth bruiser and Raleek Brown is a hybrid player who wasn’t able to show his full skillset last season when he was hindered by injuries.

Skattebo’s legacy is very present in the room. The wildcat packages are still present, albeit much more infrequent than when Skattebo would moonlight as a quarterback.

Kyson Brown is now in the role, and the way his patience has developed to let a hole open up before getting downhill in a hurry will certainly remind some of Skattebo.

“I definitely think they all kind of take a leadership role,” coach Kenny Dillingham said of the room on Friday. “I definitely think Kyson with how he carries himself, he leads by example every single day.”

His best moments last season came when Skattebo was out against UCF (73 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards) and when ASU had the Territorial Cup wrapped up in short order, coming in for his first 100-rushing yard game of his career.

ASU isn’t going to run the ball as much as it did when the Heisman Trophy finalist led a near 50-50 split (293 rush attempts for Skattebo and 350 pass attempts for Leavitt). But the running backs will still be heavily featured beyond just the run game.

Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo utilizes the screen game more than just about any other play caller, and there’s been a conscious effort in camp to get Udoh — who had two catches for three yards in two seasons at Army, a very different offensive approach — up to speed in the passing game.

While replacing Skattebo has been maybe the biggest talking point surrounding this team since his ASU career ended, Dillingham thinks that narrative could serve as motivation for the backs who are still in the program.

“If somebody says ‘oh, you can’t replace this coach,’ you’re kind of talking crap on the coach who’s replacing him, so I think the players feel that a little bit,” Dillingham said on Aug. 2. “Skatt is an unbelievable player, he’s gonna play on Sundays for a long time.

“But you as a competitor, when people say ‘how are you gonna replace him’ for seven, eight months, it’s gotta piss you off.”

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