Arizona Running Back Cam Skattebo Shakes His Head During Games as an "OCD Thing"

Arizona State's game against the Texas Longhorns came down to the wire, and while Arizona ultimately lost the college football playoff game, many nonetheless admired the team's season. Among the players who became a focal point following the loss was Arizona running back Cam Skattebo, who played a great game.

Many weren't focused on Cam's stat line, though, but instead on the fact that he seemed to shake his head fairly regularly while he was on the field. Many wanted to know more about why Cam does that so regularly, and whether it's some sort of nervous tick. Here's what we know.

While plenty of college athletes might shake their heads in disappointment or as part of a celebration, Cam shakes his head for a different reason. Some people thought that Cam might have some sort of health condition that caused him to shake his head, but the athlete took to Twitter to explain exactly why he does it.

"Twitter just thought I should address the head shakes during the game lol," he wrote.

"During the game, I sweat and it causes my face to be wet," he continued. "While my sweat dries on my face it causes my pads on the inside of my helmet to stick to my cheeks. If I had a head injury I would address it. Also if I had any type of injury trust me the game isn’t more important than my health. Thank you guys for worrying about me and my personal heath but I promise I’m OK lol !!!!!"

In an interview from October of 2024, Cam offered another explanation, saying that his head shakes became something of a habit after he noticed the sweat causing his head to stick to his helmet.

"The first thing I will say is if I ever have anything wrong with my head, I will take myself out of the game," he explained. "That is not an issue. I know my health is more important than anything."

"I've talked about it a couple of times, in the past I thought it was my helmet used to stick to my face and my hair wasn't as long, I didn't have a bigger beard," the running back continued. "My helmet used to stick to my face and my sweat would dry up and I think over this last year it's became such a constant thing and now I feel like it's more of an OCD thing."

According to Cam, then, the head shakes are in part a signal that he's locked in to playing his best.

"The fact that my helmet has to fit perfect. If I see my facemask off like just as half inch, I notice it and I just shake off the hit, make sure my helmet's fitting right," he added. "You see me too, I use my shoulder to kind of adjust my helmet. It's not a tic, it's not Tourette's, it's none of that. I think it's something that shows I'm focused and locked in."