ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham said Monday he’s the harshest critic of running back Cam Skattebo, and he doesn’t let him hear all the good things being said about him.

But the accolades keep coming for Skattebo, who picked up Doak Walker Award Player of the Week honors for the second time this season following a Herculean effort against Utah to give ASU the 27-19 win last Friday.

He was also named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in six games, as he had two second-half touchdowns and a critical third-down conversion to set up the game-sealer.

With 158 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, it marked the third time this season he had rushed for at least 150 yards. The third-down reception gave him half of his 41 yards through the air, his second-best mark of the year.

“People are fired up about him, obviously how hard he plays and the plays that he’s making, specifically in the fourth quarters,” Dillingham said during a press conference. “People are saying a lot of good things, and it’s a testament to him. I told people … before the season started how much work he’s put in to put his body in a position to go do what he’s doing.

“So people who think he’s flipping the switch right now and going out and playing well, you didn’t see the work that he put in and the time and the commitment that he made to not only change his body, change his physical ability, but also change his mindset.”

Dillingham pointed out the explosive runs rattled off by Skattebo wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t drop 10-15 pounds over the offseason to open up his breakaway speed.

The head coach said Skattebo clocked a 21.8 mph speed during the game, whereas last year reaching 20 mph would’ve been “awesome,” and he was more frequently below that.

Dillingham said the breakaways were also a result of the offensive line for blocking more aggressively since the staff simplified their roles during the bye week between the Texas Tech and Kansas games.

ASU (5-1) takes one of the longest trips in the Big 12 this week when it matches up with Cincinnati (4-2) at 9 a.m. AZT on Saturday. Follow the action on the Arizona Sports app, 98.7 or online.