Aug. 25, 2011

Last April, Jon Teague walked away from the annual Blue-Gold spring game with a cloud hanging over his head. It was more than the miserable playing conditions that featured temperatures dipping into the 40s and a steady rain that fell throughout the game. Rather it was the fact that he felt he had not come through for his teammates and it wasn't sitting well with the quiet young kicker from Hickory, N.C.

"I try to treat every game, every practice, and every rep like it's a game time situation. After the spring game, even though it was just the spring game, I knew I had let my teammates down with my performance," said Teague, who, after three years of waiting his turn to kick, had missed field goals of 52, 35 and 33 yards in the game. "I didn't feel bad for myself, I felt bad for letting others down."

So much, in fact, that he sent senior offensive team captain Alexander Teich a text that same evening apologizing and promising he would work hard and do everything he could over the summer to prevent the same result from happening in the fall when it mattered the most.

"For Jon to send that text to me spoke volumes about his character," said Teich. "He takes it personal if he misses a field goal. He cares and respects what the offense does and sacrifices to be able to get the ball down the field. When he's not able to hit that field goal, it's like a dagger has been thrust into him."

"Although Alex knows all of us work hard to do our job, I felt compelled to text him and reiterate that I was going to hit the ground running in the off-season," added Teague. "We all work our butts off for the guy beside us, but I wanted to text him to make sure he knew. That's what makes Navy football a brotherhood." The point was well taken.

"His actions speak louder than words and there's no doubt he's shown each and every one of his teammates that he's All In," said Teich.

A familiar term to those Navy football faithful, All In is a theme that Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo "borrowed" from NBA Hall of Fame coach-turned-executive Pat Riley. After winning four NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, Riley guided the Miami Heat to the organization's first NBA crown in 2006. He cited the sacrifices and the trials and tribulations a team full of veteran players made in order to win their first championship.

In 2007, Niumatalolo turned Riley's All In theme into the motto for Navy football. He created a box in which those players who wanted to contribute ways they are All In could do so the week of the Army and Air Force games. The contributions have pretty much run the gamut - Niumatalolo placed his most precious gift in the box, a family picture; 2008 co-captain Clint Sovie wrote an emotional letter describing his love and dedication towards his teammates; senior linebacker Max Blue added a poem depicting the warrior mentality; senior Doug Furman tossed in a dog collar he wore last year in pregame warm-ups that featured 14 links to represent the wide receiver corps and its inability to be broken. But for some, like Teague, they live every day All In.

Yes, Teague threw his cell phone in the box his sophomore year, willing to contribute those contacts of family and friends which represented everything closest to him. This year he plans to talk to his teammates about selflessness.

"The term All In screams to me the opportunity to put forth everything you've got, every last ounce of energy for the guy beside you. It's what you do every day on the playing field, it's how you choose to make life's decisions and it's a commitment we make as future officers in the military.

"My parents are probably most responsible for that line of thinking. They encouraged both my brother (Adam, a 2009 graduate of the Naval Academy who was a four-year letterwinner as a member of the basketball team) and I to set goals and do everything you can to live up to those standards we set."

Now entering his senior year, Teague will have ample opportunity to show that his years of hard work and commitment to the game have paid off. Although he has played an instrumental role on the team as its kickoff specialist since his rookie season, he has practiced tirelessly over the last three seasons to have the opportunity to fill the role of kicker for the Mids.

"I've had some great models come before me in Matt Harmon and Joe Buckley, guys who I consider my friends and who enjoyed healthy competition. We as specialists represent such a small group that it's important that we give one another constructive criticism and constantly push each other to improve. At the end of the day, however, we want the best player out there, whether it's me or someone else."

That scenario played out a year ago when Buckley, the Mids' starting kicker, suffered an injury when SMU's Ja'Gared Davis launched himself at Buckley's leg. The coaching staff called upon Teague the following game; it, however, was no ordinary game. It was the Notre Dame game and Teague had only kicked field goals and extra points in one prior game in his career.

"It was a little nervewracking, but I had a great week of practice leading into the game and felt pretty confident. I think my confidence was also boosted because the coaches had faith in me."

Teague would be called upon to kick extra-points after five Navy touchdowns in the Notre Dame contest, which gave him the confidence to continue in that role for two more games. In fact, he would get an unbelievable workout two weeks later at East Carolina. In addition to kicking off, Teague was called upon after 10 Navy TDs for the extra-point and also connected on 38 and 20-yard field goals, respectively.

"My leg was pretty tired after that game," Teague explained with a chuckle. "I kicked roughly 25 times that game and to be honest I was pretty sore for the rest of the season. It's not only the kicks in the game, but I like to get a few kicks in the net beforehand, at the half and even on the sideline I practice. I probably kicked well over 100 kicks that day. It paid off, though, making sure that I was prepared for every kick and keeping my focus."

After riding the high of kicking success in his home state of North Carolina, Teague would make a concession that perhaps not every college player would make. Buckley was back on the field and healthy, leaving the coaches in a bit of a quandary. As has been the case in the past, Coach Niumatalolo felt a player shouldn't lose his starting spot because of injury.

"It was a tough situation when Buckley came back healthy," said Niumatalolo. "I really felt like he deserved his spot back, but Jon was kicking so well. You really have to take great care when dealing with kickers because so much of what they do involves having a certain mentality."

Special teams coach Steve Johns called Buckley and Teague into his office and touched upon the sensitivity of the subject. By the end of the conversation, Johns and Niumatalolo decided they would split the duties and have Teague kicking field goals and Buckley kicking extra-points.

"I understood the coaches' standpoint because they were kind of in a bind and it was hard to pick one person for the job. Buckley and I, however, knew it wouldn't work. It goes back to chemistry. So Joe and I approached Coach Johns and told him that while we were pretty evenly matched, it would be better for the team and the two guys kicking to have one guy focus on kickoffs and one on kicking extra-points and field goals. I think the coaches were relieved because it was a difficult decision and quite honestly it worked out well."

It did indeed. Who knew that it would come down to a 35-yard field goal by Buckley in the fourth quarter that would decide the fate of the game. Buckley struck gold and the Mids claimed a 38-37 victory over Central Michigan.

"It was the right decision," added Teague. "I would hope that every guy on the team has the same mindset. You do whatever is best for the teams if you want to win games. That's what we decided on and neither of us have any regrets."

But 2011 is a new year and Teague has the task of taking over as that role model/mentor for the younger generation of kickers at Navy. He is the only specialist on the roster who has kicked or punted in a collegiate game and for a short time, it looked as though he may have to take on all of the kicking responsibilities this fall.

Just two weeks before the start of fall camp, punter Justin Haan decided to serve a mission abroad.

"I looked at it as an opportunity," said Teague. "Most people don't really realize this, but several of the schools who recruited me (Oregon State and Stanford) were interested in me as a punter and not as much for the kicking duties. Because I had been a punter in high school, it really wasn't that difficult for me to pick it back up and practice over the summer." As camp wore on, however, freshman Pablo Beltran secured the punting responsibilities and he has no bigger fan than Teague.

"Pablo has really been booming some punts in practice. He's doing a great job and I think he has the job well in hand. But if there ever was a point where we were evenly matched, he definitely needs to be the guy. Just like last year with Joe, it benefits the overall good of the team having two people being able to focus on their respective jobs. I'm definitely here to support him and help him in any way I can for him to succeed."

"Jon is a great human being who is always thinking about the people around him," said Niumatalolo. "He's a tremendous role model who shows the younger players on the team what it takes to be successful and how to win. I think his teammates truly believe in him.

"He's a tremendous leader on and off the field and whatever takes whatever task is on his plate seriously. I think most coaches wished all of their players were of the Jon Teague caliber."

That same commitment Teague pursues on the gridiron, he also puts forth in the classroom. An oceanography major, he has steadily improved his grade-point average and proudly boasts a 3.07 GPA.

"I worked really hard on academics as well as football, but being a plebe, there was a lot on my plate," said Teague, who balanced the responsibility of kicking off for the Midshipmen and maintaining just under a 3.00 GPA during his freshman year.

"When my sophomore year came around, I'll be the first to admit that I didn't work very hard academically. It was mainly because I was coming off from being a plebe with this whole new freedom and thought I could just get by. That mindset wasn't good. My attitude in academics and my performance in football seemed to go hand in hand."

There was some truth to the statement, as Teague was embroiled in a kicking showdown with Buckley his sophomore year. He got his chance to kick versus Western Kentucky, the Mids' fourth game of the season. While he split the uprights on all five of the extra-points, he was 1-for-2 in the field goal department, knocking down a 31-yarder, while his second attempt of the day, a 32-yarder, strayed wide. Teague resumed his role as the Mids' kickoff specialist, waiting once again for his time to shine.

"Before my junior year started I told myself, `you've gotta get on the stick. You can't just be getting by, you have to step it up, study and work hard.'"

Teague made good on his promise to himself last year. He was named to the Dean's List both semesters, achieving better than a 3.50 GPA in both semesters. Additionally, he earned mention on the Commandant's List and improved his class standing by over 100 spots.

"Paying attention to the little things and having determination are a big part of why I succeeded in the classroom this past year. If I want to do well in football, then I need to keep the same mindset with academics and vice versa. If you just try to get by in one or the other, it's always going to affect the other because that's your mindset. Your mindset is what you do every day.

You have to put in the work. That's the fact and if you don't accept that, then you are bound to fail.

"My parents have had a huge influence on me over the years in teaching me life's lessons. While I want to be proud of my accomplishments, I want to make them proud too. My goal this year is to try and get my GPA up to a 3.25 by graduation.

With the countdown to graduation already on for the Class of 2012, Teague hopes his future lies within the Marine Corps despite originally having an interest in the SEALs and EOD communities.

"I felt like I couldn't be fully committed to training for SEALs or EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) while also being fully committed to playing football. There definitely are some people who can pull that off, but for myself I didn't want to say that I was going to try for one of those options and not go 100 percent. That's not who I am and I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone, including myself.

"I'm really interested in flying, so I'm hoping to receive Marine Corps pilot as my assignment. I took the ASTB (Aviation Selection Test Battery) already and qualified for Marine NFO (Naval Flight Officer), but I really want to qualify for Marine pilot so I'll be studying hard this fall and taking it again.

This past summer, Teague got his first taste of the Marine Corps by taking part in MAGTAF (Marine Air-Ground Task Force). Unfortunately the two-week training course came to an abrupt end for Teague after just day one.

"We just got done with the obstacle course and we were getting prepared for the endurance course which is a six-mile run with all sorts of gear. About three miles in, I was running and at the bottom of the hill, I fell and twisted my ankle pretty good and had to be in a boot. It was pretty wet and muddy out there and was just a freak think that I hurt myself."

While the injury put Teague out of commission for the physical aspect of the training course, he took advantage of the Marines surrounding him.

"I picked people's brains around me. I was paired up with a logistics guy who was attached with MARSOC, the Marine Corps' version of special forces. I didn't get to do all of the physical parts of MAGTAF, but I was able to learn a lot by talking with all of the Marines who were around me."

While he may be excited about his future military career, his focus is currently turned toward what he can do on the football field to continue the success of the Navy football brotherhood.

The time is ripe for Teague to live up to the goals he has promised his family, friends, teammates and most importantly himself. As the Mids gather in the tunnel and run out onto the field for what will be the beginning of the Naval Academy's 131st season of football, every Navy fan can rest assure that when Jon Teague steps onto the hallowed ground at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium he will be All In.