As Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo prepares for the 2025 NFL draft, he is being sued for more than $300,000 by one of his former Sun Devils teammates, Jason Wolf of the Arizona Republic reports.
Attorney Neil Udulutch filed a civil complaint on behalf of Mattheos Katergaris – a former walk-on offensive lineman at Arizona State – that alleges one count of negligence resulting in injury against both Skattebo and the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body that oversees the state’s public universities.
The complaint stems from an incident in July 2023 during which Skattebo allegedly ‘jumped up and down’ on the back of a golf cart during a football practice, causing the back seat to break and Katergaris to fall to the ground.
Players had been informed only two players could ride a cart at a single time. There was also a 600-pound limit for the cart. There were two players riding the cart when Skattebo allegedly boarded it.
Udulutch detailed that Kategaris significantly injured his triceps as a result of the fall.
‘He got a really bad laceration, essentially going all the way down to the bone in his elbow,’ Udulutch told The Republic, ‘and it essentially ruptured his distal triceps tendon 90 percent of the way, so he required surgery and months of physical therapy.
‘It’s not like how a lot of the (initial) articles are painting it. He actually was very injured.’
Udulutch added Kategaris ‘can’t play anymore’ and that the former walk-on is still experiencing pain more than a year after the injury.
‘He said his arm hurts really bad when he does anything with it,’ Udulutch detailed to The Republic. ‘It moves, but it’s definitely not as strong as it was. And part of that could be the initial injury. Some of that’s definitely attributable to the way the surgery had to unfold. You’ve got to cut into there. But he’s not the same, for sure.
‘Everyone’s saying he entered the transfer portal, but he really just didn’t go anywhere.’
Skattebo wasn’t named in the original complaint, which was made in May 2024. However, it has been amended twice – most recently on Jan. 27, 2025 – when Skattebo was added as a defendant.
At the time, Skattebo was just two weeks removed from a breakout senior season at Arizona State, during which he ran for 1,711 yards and 21 touchdowns while leading the Sun Devils to a College Football Playoff berth. He is expected to be selected during the 2025 NFL draft, and potentially early on in it.
Udulutch insisted the timing of Skattebo’s addition to the lawsuit was merely coincidental.
‘I’m aware of the speculation and how that looks, but I can’t comment on the rationalization,’ Udulutch told The Republic. ‘All I can say is that we became aware that it was actually him that was on the back of the golf court, jumping up and down, according to my client.’
The Arizona Board of Regents noted in its response to the complain that it ‘has reason to believe Defendant Skattebo boarded the back of the golf cart while two other players were sitting on the rear section.’
Process servers have been attempting to locate Skattebo to deliver the legal paperwork to him. They have been unable to find him at his most recent known addresses in Arizona and California.
As a result, the court has granted permission for Udulutch to serve Skattebo by publication, which involves publishing the summons and complaint in a Maricopa County newspaper for four consecutive weeks.
Udulutch referred to the process as ‘archaic’ and ‘a last resort.’
‘He’s been hard to pin down,’ Udulutch said of Skattebo. ‘I have reason to believe he was in Florida preparing for the combine and then I know he was in Indy. I don’t know if he even lives in Arizona anymore. Maybe he’s bouncing around hotels. I just don’t know, so I was done chasing him.
‘My hope is that he or his family will retain an attorney and help us out here, but otherwise we’ll have to go that route. It’s kind of an archaic procedure. It is definitely a last resort.’