Boasting a vociferous running style that could be viewed as half-running back, half-battering ram, New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo's not yet returned to form in his comeback from a dislocated ankle.
At this point, he would associate himself more with an infant hippopotamus than any other hard-charging creature.
"I can get away from like a baby hippo, maybe," Skattebo of his recovery on The Rich Eisen Show. "That's about it. But, yeah, a little bit over a jog. Just kind of striding out, not exploding yet and getting into that part of the game, but the jog and the striding."
A quick Google show that baby hippos are rather speedy miniature powder kegs that can hit 19-30 mph. Being able to hit those numbers would completely change the rock-'em-sock-'em style of Skattebo's game.
Nevertheless, the popular soon-to-be second-year Giants rusher is clearly taking baby steps in his recovery.
"I'm getting better," he said. "I ran for the first time today about 75 percent, so it's the bright side of things."
During a Week 8 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, Skattebo was carted away from a promising rookie season, requiring surgery to mend his dislocated ankle.
Though he's still got a lot of road ahead to get up to full speed, the Arizona State product is convinced he'll be good to go for offseason workouts and certainly for training camp in July.
"Oh, I'll be ready to go by training camp," he said. "Absolutely. I've probably got a little bit over a month left until I'm fully back to 100%. OTAs are coming up in about a month and I'm excited. I'll be ready to go."
Skattebo's never-die-easy brand of ball, his bromance with Jaxson Dart and his tongue-wagging, head-butting and wooing nature quickly made him a star attraction in New York and beyond. In his abbreviated first season, he had 617 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns.
When the gregarious back returns to action, he'll find a vastly different squad.
Most notably, John Harbaugh is at the helm, having replaced Brian Daboll as head coach.
"You can tell he loves football," Skattebo said of Harbaugh. "He called me late at night one night talking about some offensive linemen and some defensive guys and how I like them. He cares what his players think and he's gonna do what's best for the team to win games."
The longtime Baltimore Ravens head coach has brought along some of his past coaches, staff and players. Among the latter is Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard.
A Skattebo-Ricard backfield could prove to be a punishing combo for opposing defenses. Skattebo certainly thinks it will be.
"It's gonna be pretty exciting," he said. "I talked to Pat yesterday right before he signed and I was like, 'Hey, man. This would be a real fun time.' I got the word a couple hours later that he was signing. It's awesome to have him. I know he's gonna be another juiced energy ball to bring on to the team. I'm ready to play with him. I know the other guys are, and when you've got 305 pounds running at you at linebacker and you still have a 220-pound running back coming at you after that, it's not a fun sight to see. So, I'm excited for fourth-and-1 and third-and-1."
Whether he's trying to outrun baby hippopotami or grinding through rehab, Skattebo seems excited and having fun no matter what the endeavor. Following a season-ending injury and a massive facelift for the Giants franchise, Skattebo appears unchanged and ready to hit the ground running hard for his 2026 campaign.
