COLUMBUS, Ohio — Master Teague III had an idea of what his numbers would turn out to be at Ohio State’s Pro Day Wednesday afternoon. The numbers he did hear were around where he thought it would be.
But it was almost like he didn’t want to jinx himself.
“I’ll let those speak for itself,” Teague said, not wanting to share what he thought his numbers in the drills would be until he found out for himself.
He knew, though, that they would be pretty good. And in the context of running backs across the country, they were:
He ran a 4.44 40-yard dash on his first try, which would have been the 11th-best time of any running back at the NFL Combine.
He recorded a 36-inch vertical jump, which would have tied him for fifth at the combine with South Dakota State RB Pierre Strong.
He recorded 27 reps on the 225-pound bench press, which would have tied him for first at the combine with Michigan RB Hassan Haskins.
And he finished with a 10-foot, 11-inch broad jump: three inches longer than any other running back in the country.
Oh, and he wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine.
“It’s motivating, of course, because that’s frustrating, but I guess I understand it, I don’t really know. I’m just glad to be out here right now and show what I can do,” Teague said. “I don’t dwell in the past or nothing, just move forward. I know what I can do, confident in my abilities and, of course, continue to grow and work on the things that I need to work on.”
Teague’s college career didn’t really go as planned.
The No. 8 running back in the 2018 class, the Murfreesboro, Tennessee native served as the No. 2 running back on the Buckeyes’ roster for J.K. Dobbins’ 2,000-yard season in 2019, seemingly setting up to be the bell-cow back in 2020.
Instead, Ohio State picked up Trey Sermon and the two became 1A and 1B, with the Oklahoma transfer ending the season with 12 more carries and 356 more rushing yards than Teague. And with the emergence of TreVeyon Henderson in 2021, the redshirt junior finished with 67 carries for 355 yards and four touchdowns in what ended up being his final season with the Buckeyes.
“This past year wasn’t the year I would have liked it to be. The last couple years before that were a bit better, but still not even where I know I can be and what I can do,” Teague said. “I’m still hungry to show what I can do and what I can put out there, what I know I have.”
Teague is confident.
Instead of transferring to be that face-of-the-offense running back he believed he could be, and instead of battling for playing time with Henderson, Miyan Williams, Evan Pryor and Dallan Hayden in 2022, the 5-foot-11, 221-pound running back was ready to move forward, ready to test the waters at the next level.
He’s in the moment, looking forward to what this path may have for him.
That process started at Michael Johnson Performance in McKinney, Texas, working with the former Olympic sprinter, who helped the former Buckeye with his running form, creating consistency both on and off the field with weight room work and position work.
It helped him turn heads at Ohio State’s Pro Day.
“I’m just going to do what I do. I don't know where their heads are right now, at least. All I can do is control what I can control and I feel like I did that the best way I could,” Teague said. “Of course, you don’t reach the pinnacle. You always have to go further, but today, I feel like I did what I could, and hopefully teams saw that and liked it. Hopefully they will analyze it and look at it and give an opportunity there.”
Teague said he’s already been talking with multiple NFL teams, holding Zoom and phone calls with teams that are definitely interested in him, he said.
That’s all the running back is looking for. Teague knows he has breakaway speed. He knows he can get gritty and dirty with physical red-zone runs. He knows he can pass-protect, go out for passing routes or do whatever offensive coordinators want out of him.
All Teague wants is a chance.
“I just come out here and do what I can and control what I can control,” Teague said. “I guess the teams will look at it and analyze it and figure out for themselves what they think of it. I can’t really dwell too much on those things. I just know I did what I could today and continued to show that I deserve an opportunity and that I can help a team for sure.”
