Master Teague runs with football in hand

Ohio State then-redshirt freshman running back Master Teague III (33) runs the ball down the field during the second half of the game against Wisconsin on Oct. 26. Ohio State won 38-7. Credit: Amal Saeed | Former Photo Editor

It was supposed to be Master Teague’s time to carry the mantle in the Ohio State backfield, but getting to that first snap has not been easy. 

While junior running back J.K. Dobbins stole headlines with his record-setting season rushing the football in 2019, then-redshirt freshman running back Teague put together a campaign that saw him tally 789 rushing yards in the backup role. With Dobbins now in the NFL, Teague has battled injury and season uncertainty to have the chance to leave his mark. 

In early March, an Achilles injury derailed Teague’s spring development. Listed as unavailable for the rest of spring camp, the loss of practice repetitions, which proved less significant with only three spring practices occurring before COVID-19 concerns forced players away from campus, mixed with rehabilitation prevented the third-year player from making strides in the spring months. 

Despite the setback, his father, Corey Teague, said the road back was rather miraculous. 

“He had that surgery in March, and now, come June he was running. I think toward the end of May he was running, and so that was a miracle,” Teague said. 

With the departure of Dobbins, the Buckeyes have a void to fill in the backfield. Dobbins rushed for 2,003 rushing yards and 23 total touchdowns in 2019. This performance came on the heels of back-to-back seasons surpassing the 1,000-yard plateau. 

And it was a freshman and unproven Dobbins that began his Ohio State journey two years after former Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott finished his career with a 1,821 rushing yard finale. 

Continuing the tradition set by Ohio State former running backs Dobbins, Elliott, Eddie George, Archie Griffin, Keith Byers and others is no short task, but Master Teague said he is ready for the challenge. 

“You gotta just uphold that standard, because there’s been great backs here,” Master Teague said Dec. 26. “You got to keep that tradition rolling, so I think I’m confident in myself and I feel like I’ll be prepared for that role when it comes.”

Master Teague, who has carried the ball 152 times in his Ohio State career, will not be alone in the backfield when the Buckeyes return. 

Sophomore running back Marcus Crowley and redshirt freshman Steele Chambers will return, but the duo has combined to rush the ball only 44 times in their collegiate careers. 

The Buckeyes added experience to the running back room when graduate running back Trey Sermon transferred to Ohio State from Oklahoma. 

Sermon accumulated 2,076 rushing yards on 339 carries in three seasons with the Sooners. 

Despite Master Teague’s familiarity with the team and Sermon’s experience, Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford said decisions on who gets touches will be made with winning in mind. 

“They’re all going to get ready to play,” Alford said April 22 on a conference call. “They’re all going to be prepared to play and we’re gonna do whatever we need to do to win games, and if that’s with a committee approach, then that’s fine. If it’s not, then it’s not.”

Ohio State last saw a committee approach to its backfield in 2018, when Dobbins and then-redshirt junior running back Mike Weber each rushed over 170 times. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the solution to Ohio State’s backfield conundrum, but Alford said Master Teague was instrumental in the development of the inexperienced running back room during the team’s time apart. 

“I’ve relied on him a lot of leadership and he’s done a really outstanding job of reaching out, engaging the younger guys, and things like that,” Alford said April 22 on a conference call. 

Whatever player is receiving handoffs the next time Ohio State steps onto the field, Corey Teague said that his son would have been ready to play if the season started Sept. 3.

Games are no longer in the foreseeable future following the Big Ten’s decision to postpone the fall season, but Corey Teague is working so the players’ hard work can be shown on the field. 

“Hard work, in my world, deserves to be rewarded,” Teague said. “And I know that sometimes things we do may not work out well — even if it is hard work, and this definitely is just not a clear picture on why we’re getting a no, and so I’m searching for a yes.”