By Mark Pszonak
Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo had a great 2024 season with the Sun Devils, which concluded in a memorable performance against Texas in the College Football Playoffs. Since then he has been a popular topic regarding his NFL potential and where he will be drafted. Because of that, there have been some comparisons to prior NFL running backs, which has annoyed at least one NFL analyst.
Some thoughts, and some rules, on Cam Skattebo pic.twitter.com/HwxhuZDrFj
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) March 3, 2025
Kyle Brandt, who is a host on the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, is very passionate about Skattebo, especially since he called him “my favorite player in this year’s draft.” His rant touched on many different topics, but is focused on the comparison that other analysts have used with Skattebo and their laziness in doing so.
“The Cam Skattebo comps are driving me crazy,” said Brandt. “Over the next 52 days, I do not want to hear the name Toby Gerhart a single time. Don’t say it! If you’re saying it about Cam Skattebo, you’re mailing in your analysis. You’re lazy. They’re not close to the same prospect. While I am at it, while I have you, do not utter the name Peyton Hillis in my presence, stop it! … Do better than just scrolling your nostalgia rolodex for the fastest meathead cracker you can find, alright? You have to do better!”
One other specific comparison seemed to especially irritate Brandt.
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“Lastly, it is possible to describe and analyze young Cameron Skattebo without mentioning the name Mike Alstott. No one loves Mike Alstott more than me. Mike Alstott had four inches, 30 pounds on Skattebo. Guys, just speaking purely in the football sense, it’s not the comp!”
The three players that Brandt specifically mentioned, Toby Gerhart, Peyton Hillis and Mike Alstott, all enjoyed successful football careers. Gerhart rushed for 3,007 yards and 43 touchdowns during his final two seasons at Stanford, which led him to being drafted in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. In the NFL he rushed for 1,675 yards and seven touchdowns in six seasons. Hillis is most known for a big 2010 season with the Cleveland Browns, when he rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns. That followed four productive seasons with Arkansas. Alstott was the most successful of the three, rushing for 5,088 yards and 58 touchdowns in the NFL, all with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was also an All-American at Purdue.
Being compared to any of the three isn’t disrespectful in any way, but it is true that analysts and reporters can get lazy with their usage. Once one or two say it, suddenly you will likely hear the same a dozen more times.
Overall, none of this matters. Skattebo is his own unique player and will be given every opportunity to make a name for himself with whomever drafts him next month. And then in a few years, if he is successful, some other college player may be compared to him. It is a cycle that will continue.
