Recruiting Report: Drake Teal (2020)

Much like St. Paul Johnson's inexplicable playoff run that landed them in the 4A state semifinals after a modest 4-4 regular season, Drake Teal and the Governors are treading in new waters. Teal told me in an interview that football is very "new to my family. I’ve grown up in a hockey family, so when recruiting blew up for me it was very foreign. My father was a hockey coach in white bear for 36 years, and I’ve grown up playing hockey. And I’m also currently the captain of the Johnson hockey team." The 6'4, 206 lb defensive end and tight end shares a similarly unexpected sentiment when describing the 2018 Johnson season: "This season was no less than magical. It seemed like it was almost scripted. With being the first St. Paul public school to make it to the state tournament since 1981, it had to be one of the best experiences of my life." After a humble seven game beginning of the season, the Governors found themselves 3-4 going into their final game against Minneapolis foe Washburn. Teal told me that "our last regular season game we ended up winning 67-0 against Washburn. This gave us a huge surge of confidence into the post season, and may have been the turning point." Finding unity as a team became a big factor in the St. Paul public school's success. Teal told me that with every grade contributing while being led by "our great class of seniors, the contributions were not on a single player by any means. We always had the talent, but we played our best when we realized that we could combine that talent AS A TEAM." This solidarity led to a miraculous victory in their first game of the 4A state playoffs against St. Anthony Village. As Teal told it to me: "We were down 22-0 at halftime, and found a new life in the 30°F and three inches of snow weather and made a miraculous comeback. I think this season at Johnson revived the east side of St. Paul, and opened many eyes in favor of Johnson." Despite a tough loss in the semifinals to Wilmar that capped off an incredible four-game stretch for Johnson, Teal and the Governors are only using it as fuel for this upcoming season. When asked how his teams offseason has been going, Teal stated that"we have been training hard since the day after our state semifinal loss, and have been using the score (62-20) as a huge motivation. We have it written all over our weight room and other places for constant reminders of the pain we felt that night. I believe it all came together when we played as a team." The Twin City-Gold subdistrict contender is going to have to come together in a big way if they hope to replicate or improve upon the success of last season, but Teal shared with me that the Governors have a couple advantages for this upcoming season, some in personnel: "We have a transfer, David Murray, from North St. Paul. He will be a huge piece for Johnson football. Keep your eyes open for his name. Other players due for a huge season are named like Luis Fuentes, Joey Moberg, Nico Roberts, and Jovanni Gonzalez among others." Another advantage is a little more regional, as Teal echoed a familiar position that "inner city schools are always the grittiest teams. I have so much fun playing that style of football. I think our conference is always the toughest, no matter what anyone says. The competition and rivalries we have with each inner city team is special, and I know it will be a close battle with every game we play." With a big opening game on August 30th against Minneapolis North, the Governors will have a big test early to bring that Twin City grittiness out and place themselves in a spot to make last years success a lot more familiar. [caption id="attachment_8906" align="aligncenter" width="340"] Credit: Drake Teal goes up for a catch[/caption] Although it began as unfamiliar territory to Teal and his family, the East St. Paul product has become a usual after a busy offseason. The dual-sport athlete has been training "5 days a week" and is specifically "looking to improve my defensive line work by increasing hand speed and physicality, but I am also looking to build a better tight end profile with better feet and routes." Potential colleges should be excited about this offseason work, as Teal is only going to build on his junior campaign in which he posted 42 tackles, 5 sacks, 7 TFLs, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 blocked kick, and a blocked punt. His hype has the potential to build much like his production, as he told me that "my recruiting really took off around March. The junior day visits piled up, and coaches really started to take notice. I unfortunately am still without a D1 offer, but stand with a couple D2 offers with Crookston, St. Cloud State, and Winona State." In addition to the junior days, Teal has "visited multiple D1 campus’s, with schools like the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, University of North Dakota, University of Northern Iowa, and I’ve worked out individually for USD, SDSU, and UND. I’ve also camped at the University of Minnesota, and UNI so far, and plan on attending the UND camp on the 20th." He told me that "if I were offered by any of those schools that I named, I would be more than ecstatic! But my dream school is the U of Minnesota. By far. I’ve grown up idolizing the Gophers!" He also told me that he believes that "the NSIC is my fallback plan. If I do not receive any D1 offers, I will probably commit to a school in that conference." Ideally, Teal like to attend a school that prioritizes both athletics as well as academics. He reported to me that "academics are a huge part of my life, and I take serious pride and responsibility in it. I currently have a 4.18 GPA, 12x A honor roll, NHS, and am top 15 in my class. My education is very important to me, and will have an equal impact as football on my final college decision." In terms of football, Teal stated that the team that I commit to needs to be a family. We need to all have the same goal, coaching and players alike. Even if it’s not a winning program, it needs to have a winning culture. We all need to have the work ethic to work towards a common goal of winning, and I cannot go to a college where losing is acceptable." [caption id="attachment_8907" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Drake Teal with the tackle and FF.[/caption] For now however, Teal and the Governors are focused on the upcoming season with the taste of success still being savored by the East St. Paul public school. With the state tournament becoming a little more familiar, Teal announced to me that "I think that everyone needs to know how special of a place Johnson is. I really want everyone to know that we WILL be in the state tournament again this year, and that they should be tuned in for this year!" Stay your eyes out for St. Paul Johnson and Drake Teal versus Minneapolis North @ Johnson High School at 4 PM on August 30th. Junior year Hudl link: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9909048/5c388a62578d0f12cc22d166 <div class="DirectMessage-container"> <div class="DirectMessage-message with-text dm-message u-chromeOverflowFix"> <div class="DirectMessage-contentContainer"></div> </div> </div>