A little over a week ago, the Ohio State Buckeyes accepted a commitment from Tennessee running back Master Teague. This essentially ended any pursuit between OSU and Dayton Dunbar tailback Tavion Thomas.
On Tuesday, Thomas (6-2 225) verbally committed to the University of Oklahoma. He announced the news via Twitter.
I will like to say that I am verbally committed to Oklahoma university ??☑️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️???????????????? @LincolnRiley pic.twitter.com/6hyp1CvWAk
— lackofworries?? (@tavionthomas937) June 20, 2017
Thomas is rated a 3-star prospect per the 247Sports Composite and the No. 19 running back in the nation overall. He received an Ohio State offer back in February. and he visited OSU twice in March. He also added offers from Michigan, Oregon, USC, and Texas.
Ultimately, however, it came down to the Sooners.
Few schools can match Oklahoma’s running back history, which obviously made the Sooners an attractive situation for Thomas.
Oklahoma is in the midst of replacing a pair of 1,000-yard rushers from last year in Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine. While Thomas won’t help them this year, he does provide some backup in 2018 for a running back stable that hasn’t yet found its footing.
As to what kind of running back Tavion Thomas is, here’s a glimpse.
Ohio State offers Dayton tailback Tavion Thomas, who resembles Beanie Wells right here. pic.twitter.com/cDTVvTbp2k
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) February 18, 2017
Many people expected Thomas to eventually be a Buckeye, but when Ohio State offered Master Teague a little over a week ago, they were essentially shutting down their running back recruiting. They will still maintain contact with prospects in case there is a decommitment, but if this was Blackjack, the Buckeyes would be sticking.
Currently, Ohio State has three running backs committed in Florida’s Brian Snead, Ohio’s Jaelen Gill, and the aforementioned Master Teague out of Tennessee.
That’s enough for most schools.
Just take a look.
Brian Snead
Snead (5-11 200) is a slasher with speed who is only going to get bigger at Ohio State. He won’t need to get too much bigger, however. You might compare him to favorably to Antonio Pittman, who was about 180 pounds as a freshman.
Jaelen Gill
Gill (6-1 182) is bound for H-back at Ohio State, and there might not be a better-equipped player out there to handle the position. Gill missed last season with a leg injury, but is now back full strength and participating in camps and combines. He is slated to have a very big season for his Westerville South high school in 2017.
Master Teague
Teague is a punishing runner when he has to be, but his offensive line was so good in 2016 that contact couldn’t always find him. He’s got the speed to distance himself from angles, and the agility to create new ones.
