The Hurry Up is your nightly dose of updates from the Ohio State football recruiting trail, keeping tabs on the latest from commits and targets from around the country.
ON THE MEND
As we first reported on Monday afternoon, Ohio State three-star running back commit Master Teague III was set to undergo surgery on Wednesday morning to repair a peroneal tendon subluxation, a condition in which the tendon snapped out of place in his left ankle.
“Everything went well and as planned,” Teague's father, Corey, told Eleven Warriors. “Took care of the tendon slippage issue and found that there was no tearing on the tendons and no ligament issues.”
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Teague was in surgery for less than an hour.
The injury happened in Mufreesboro, Tennessee, Blackman’s rain-soaked win over Coffee County earlier this month. He finished the game, but washeld out for much of the next two weeks as he tried to recover in time for the Blaze’s highly anticipated matchup with Oakland on Friday.
Teague returned and rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns, but was limited in the second half of the 42-21 loss to the Patriots. He could have continued to play through the injury, but he and his family decided what will likely be season-ending surgery was the best way to move forward.
Teague, who rushed for 711 yards and 10 touchdowns in a little over four games this season, will be in a cast for two weeks and a walking boot for rehab thereafter. He will be fully recovered by the time he steps on campus in January as an early enrollee.
HOPE SHE'S GETTING PAID
When Ohio State landed a commitment from Kemp, Texas, three-star wide receiver Ellijah Gardiner last winter, director of player personnel Mark Pantoni credited assistant Eron Hodges and his team for their ability to identify unheralded recruits with interest in the program.
Now if the Buckeyes eventually receive a pledge from Wheelersburg wide receiver Tanner Holden, he’ll have to thank head coach Urban Meyer’s wife, Shelley.
“We played Bishop Watterson, which has coach Meyer’s son, and his wife attended. She had been sitting up in the press box during the game and noticed my play throughout the game,” Holden told Eleven Warriors. “She was texting coach [Urban] Meyer and the recruiters at Ohio State, so that's how they really found out about me.”
The 6-foot-6, 170-pound Holden had three offensive touchdowns and one pick-six in the Pirates’ 47-17 win, and shortly thereafter, wide receivers coach Zach Smith, linebackers coach Bill Davis, director of player personnel Mark Pantoni and recruiting assistant Ed Terwilliger reached out Holden and invited him to attend Saturday's game against UNLV.
“The visit was amazing,” Holden said. “It was a great eye-opner to just realize the doors that may open in the future and the hard work and dedication that I need to put in to be able to play at that level.”
Holden is actually best known for his skills on the hardwood, where he scored 14.6 points per game. He holds an offer from Ohio University, and his lone 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction is in favor of Ohio State.
It looks as if football may end up being the route he takes, and an offer from the Buckeyes would be huge.
“It would be an amazing privilege to have an offer from Ohio State,” Holden said.
NOT ONLY A GREAT ATHLETE, BUT A BETTER PERSON
Much of the conversation surrounding Owasso, Oklahoma, four-star safety Josh Proctor since his commitment to Ohio State at halftime of the Spring Game in April has been about the chances of a potential flip to the home-state Sooners. But completely solid in his commitment, Proctor is focused on ending his high school career by leading the Rams to their first state championship in more than 40 years.
This weekend's game against Tulsa Union looms rather large, too, as it pits the top two teams in the state against one another. It also marks a homecoming — of sorts — for Rams' head coach Bill Blankenship, who coached the Redskins to three state titles in 14 years.
Blankenship took some time out of his busy week of preparation to speak with former ESPN recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree on his weekly Over The Middle podcast about the upcoming matchup, during which he heaped quite a bit of praise on the future Buckeye.
“He is what I call an elite-skilled athlete,” Blankenship said. “He's a guy you could see recruited to anywhere in the country, and he's deserving of it. He's long, he's athletic and he's physical. You love guys that make you better coaches.”
Having gotten to know Proctor and his family in the months since his pledge, I can only back up everything Blankenship said.
You can listen to the full interview below, with Blankenship's segment beginning at roughly the 11 minute mark.
