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Former Ohio State quarterback and current Westerville North football coach Stanley Jackson witnessed the transformation firsthand. He saw Jake Cook, a 2025 offensive lineman, develop into a player Jackson feels is worthy of OSU’s attention.
And that’s exactly what he told the Buckeyes.
“I said, ‘Listen, he’s the top-rated lineman in the state of Ohio,’ ” Jackson said. “‘If we learned anything from Jim Tressel, you have to put a hedge around the state of Ohio. You have to have the best players.’
“I don’t think that speech did anything, quite frankly. I think their mind was already made up.”
Ohio State’s Ryan Day had already seen the change.
Day attended an Under Armour Ohio football recruiting camp in April with his son, 2027 quarterback RJ Day. There the Ohio State coach saw a 6-foot-5, 295-pound, lean, athletic Cook who looked nothing like the over 300-pound lineman who made his first Ohio State game-day visit in October 2022.
And over the course of multiple workouts at Ohio State’s summer recruiting camps, Cook continued to impress. Once committed to Louisville, Cook joined Ohio State’s 2025 class this past weekend, days after he received an OSU offer he had long hoped for.
“I was not giving up on Ohio State,” Cook said. “I knew I was better than some of the guys that they have offered. I just showed up really late in the process.”
But to get Ohio State’s attention, Cook had to have a reality check.
Jake Cook develops into Ohio State recruiting target
Cook started at left guard for Westerville North as a freshman, and he had multiple Division 1 offers, including Akron and Miami (Ohio) before his sophomore season. Looking back, Cook admits that those early offers may have hurt him.
Westerville North’s Jake Cook, left, watches Ohio State warm up prior to the Buckeyes’ 2022 game against…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/westerville-ol-jake-cooks-transformation-100528656.html
Author : The Columbus Dispatch
Publish date : 2024-06-25 10:05:28
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