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Jordan Raanan
Multiple Authors
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo admitted Friday to sometimes doing “dumb things” — like a backflip recently at Fanatics Fest — and said he met with coach John Harbaugh.
The latest incident involving Skattebo caught the team’s attention. Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen both talked with the second-year running back about his actions and doing what is best for himself and the team.
Skattebo seemed to get the message.
“Obviously I do some dumb things here or there, but I learn from it,” he said. “My coach talked to me, told me how he felt. I learned from it. Will I do a backflip again? Probably not. You live and you learn, and we move on.”
It doesn’t mean Skattebo won’t ever do his trademark backflip. He just has temporarily put it on ice.
“When game time comes around, we’ll see when game time comes around,” he said. “Right now, we’re focused on training camp. We’ll keep the backflips off the field for now.”
Skattebo is coming back from an open fracture of his right ankle suffered in October. He spent a majority of the offseason rehabbing the injury before returning to practice in the spring.
When returning during mandatory minicamp, Harbaugh joked that he and Skattebo agreed he wouldn’t backflip. He’s too valuable to the team.
The Giants seem to have big plans for Skattebo. He has been first up during live drills at training camp the first three days, despite splitting first-team reps with last year’s leading rusher Tyrone Tracy Jr. It’s at least notable, even though Harbaugh said he is still “learning our team as we go” and that the workload split hasn’t yet been determined.
The early returns at training camp have been positive off such a serious injury.
“I’ve felt 99%,” Skattebo said. “I think the 100% is when I put shoulder pads on and I’m able to hit someone. That’s when I’ll tell you I’m 100%. For now, I’m 99.9% OK.”
The Giants need Skattebo at 100%. They seem to favor his aggressive style. It fits with what Harbaugh is trying to accomplish with a team that plays physical, smashmouth football.
But with that approach also comes Skattebo’s sometimes reckless behavior. He participated in a WWE skit on “Monday Night Raw” last year while he was still on crutches. He made a CTE joke that prompted an almost immediate apology. He did a backflip for the first time since the injury after hitting a home run at the Brian Burns Celebrity Softball Game in late May. And then he again backflipped at Fanatics Fest less than two weeks before the start of training camp.
Skattebo still wants to be himself. Only with some slightly better decision-making.
He’ll save the backflips for the real games.
“People say I’m the people’s guy. So I’m going to continue being the people’s guy,” he said. “Keep giving kids high-fives. You never know when that kid is going to cry because he got a high-five from me. I’m going to continue being who I am and hopefully make everyone happy around me and continue to be positive.
“If a kid wants a backflip, he’ll see a backflip when it’s touchdown time.”
