Master Teague III didn’t need to impress Ohio State’s coaches at Friday Night Lights.
Teague already did that in June, when he came to Columbus for a previous recruiting camp and performed so well he earned a scholarship offer. The class of 2018 running back committed to Ohio State just two days later.
Because he already did what he needed to do to earn a scholarship last month, Teague decided not to work out during Friday’s primetime recruiting showcase inside Ohio Stadium.
Teague still made the trip to Columbus from his hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the opportunity to spend time with his future coaches and teammates.
A previously under-the-radar three-star recruit, Teague has climbed up recruiting rankings since his commitment to Ohio State (funny how that works, isn’t it?). He has received interest from some of college football’s other elite programs, including defending national champion Clemson, which offered Teague at the end of last month. Even so, Teague’s commitment to Ohio State has only solidified in the last six weeks.
"I’m really strong in my position," Teague said of his commitment.
Now that his college decision is firmly made, Teague is focusing on continuing to improve as a football player. He said the reason he chose not to compete in Friday’s event was because he did not want to risk suffering an injury that could impact his senior season at Blackman High School.
Teague will face tough competition for playing time once he arrives at Ohio State in 2018, as the Buckeyes have commitments from two other running backs – Jaelen Gill from Westerville, Ohio, and Brian Snead from Seffner, Florida, both four-star recruits – in his class. Teague is the lowest-rated recruit of the trio, but he says he’s not concerned about that. Instead, he’s looking forward to the challenge.
"I just want to come here and compete and show I have capabilities that’ll help this team," Teague said. "We’ll all just come in here and work hard and make each other better."
Teague said he has already built a close relationship with Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford, who he says is pushing him to be the best he can be. He has also made friendships with some of Ohio State’s current running backs who will be his teammates in 2018, including Antonio Williams and J.K. Dobbins.
It’s Teague’s expectation that attending Ohio State will better him as both a player on the field and as a person off the field. Attending Friday Night Lights only solidified that belief. While Teague didn’t run through any drills on Friday, he was alongside those who did as Friday’s program also consisted of videos touting Ohio State’s recent history of developing NFL players and speeches from current Buckeyes coaches along with former Buckeyes linebackers Joshua Perry and Curtis Grant.
As captured by Eleven Warriors' Andrew Lind, Teague and his family also enjoyed soaking in the spotlight that came with being an Ohio State commit at the event.
Ohio State running back commit Master Teague III surrounded by reporters. His mom told me, "I've never seen anything like that." pic.twitter.com/4goIfCFHh3
— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) July 22, 2017
"I thought it was a good experience," Teague said of Friday Night Lights. "It feels good to be out there (in Ohio Stadium). Just hyped me up a lot."
