Arizona State star running back Cam Skattebo will not travel to New York City as one of four Heisman Trophy finalists announced Monday.

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward were considered candidates for the award, which honors the best player in college football each season.

“I mean, some of this is political, and I understand,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said Burns & Gambo from Arizona Sports on Monday.

“He came from far away, so to speak, to try to win the Heisman. … You kind of have to go into the season with that watch list and people praise you. That way people would have watched him all year round, right? And I think the fact that our team was ranked so low definitely hurt him because people didn’t see him play for the first nine weeks of the season. I think if people had seen him play all season, I think he would be there on Saturday.”

Skattebo sent a very clear message to the national audience during and after ASU’s victory in the Big 12 Championship Game over Iowa State on Saturday, when he struck the infamous Heisman pose after touchdowns and stood on the stage again as confetti rained. Skattebo ran through defender after defender for 170 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 38 yards and another score.

After the game he said, “Nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country. I’ll stick with it. If people want to disregard that, I will go ahead and prove people wrong.”

ASU running back Cam Skattebo explains why he struck the signature Heisman pose after his touchdown run. pic.twitter.com/c4Gjp1v4lV

– Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 8, 2024

Skattebo ranks second in the FBS in scrimmage yards (2,074) behind Jeanty (2,613) in the conference championship games. He ran for 1,568 yards (fifth), added 506 receiving yards and scored 22 total touchdowns (tied for sixth).

He is the only player in Big 12 history to set winning records 1,500 rushing yards and 500 Reception yards. The last FBS player to do so was Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, who was a Heisman finalist but lost to Alabama’s Derrick Henry.

The senior earned a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team, but lost out to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders for the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.

Despite the awards, oddsmakers did not expect him to run. Hunter and Jeanty are considered the frontrunners, while Gabriel quarterbacked the nation’s No. 1 team. Ward threw the most touchdown passes with 36 and was second in passing yards.

Dillingham has made sure to include Skattebo in the Heisman talks on multiple occasions, saying Monday that his playmaker has had more than just dominant performances.

“It’s an incredible story what he’s accomplished this year and it’s only going to get better,” Dillingham said. “In my opinion there is no doubt that he should be one of the finalists Heisman. I think the impact he had on the football team is felt not only on the field but also in the community. … It’s the identity of our football team, the toughness of our football team, the toughness, the level of competition of our football team, a big part of that comes from him.”

Skattebo began his college career at Sacramento State, an FCS school, and although he was left off the Heisman finalist list – and the Doak Walker Award list – he burst into the college football spotlight before the NFL Draft.

The Heisman Trophy ceremony will take place on Saturday. More than 900 voters chose the finalists.

Arizona State has still produced a Heisman finalist, as quarterback Jake Plummer won the honor in 1996 when Florida’s Danny Wuerffel won.

Follow @alexjweiner