When it comes to his role as an NFL analyst, Ryan Clark isn’t just a former player, but the father of New York Jets practice squad safety Jordan Clark. As such, the ESPN commentator has a unique perspective on Cam Skattebo, who was teammates with his son at Arizona State.
Following the rookie running back’s star-making performance in the New York Giants’ 34-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football, Clark opted to share some of the insight he had gained based on his personal experiences with Skattebo. Only his commentary took a curious turn as he revealed a bizarre story regarding the former Sun Devils star’s postgame behavior.
“This dude is made to win. And he’s also a kind, giving human. After the game, I would hang out, talk to his parents,” Clark recalled on Friday’s episode of First Take. “He would come out, and his mom would give him a plastic bag of candy. He would take the plastic bag of candy, and while he ate that plastic bag of candy, he would not take a shower before he came out; he would stick it in his pants. And I appreciated him; he pulled it out of his pants, and he goes, ‘RC, do you want a candy?’ ‘Hell no. What makes you think I’d eat your crotch candy?’ But what I’m saying is this, the dude is all dog, all boy, and an absolute baller.”
As the former NFL safety attempted to put a bow on his point, his First Take colleagues had a hard time stifling their laughter.
“I didn’t know where we were going with that candy story,” host MJ Acosta-Ruiz said.
“You just literally gave us a story that had nothing to do with nothing and it was basically highlighting how Cam Skattebo takes shower pills,” Cam Newton added.
“No, he took the shower afterwards,” Clark clarified. “He wanted to see his family.”
“Bro, he don’t even need to be eating that after that, let alone offering it to somebody else,” Stephen A. Smith chimed in. “Thank God he could play, he got a great personality. That’s a nasty ass story you just told about Cam Skattebo on national television.”
No argument here.
Between leading Arizona State to an improbable appearance in the College Football Playoff last season and quickly emerging as one of the NFL’s most exciting young players, the legend of Cam Skattebo has grown exponentially in the last year. But while most of that has been due to his performance on the field and personality off of it, we now have more insight into his postgame eating habits than any of us had been looking for.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.