The Hurry-Up: Ohio State Offers High School Teammates Jakob Gude and Dontrell Glover, Demello Jones Puts OSU in Top 10, Trent Wilson to Visit Columbus March 25

By Garrick Hodge on February 21, 2023 at 5:30 pm
Jakob Gude
Twitter/@Jakob6Gude
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Ohio State had success recruiting Langston Hughes High School (Fairburn, Georgia) in the past recruiting cycle, landing highly touted 2023 tight end Jelani Thurman.

On Tuesday, OSU dished out two more offers to players from Langston Hughes: One to a fast-rising safety in the 2024 class and another to a highly-touted offensive tackle in the 2025 class. 

We’ll delve into both offers below. 

Jakob Gude

The 6-foot, 183-pound Gude has only recently seen his recruitment truly take off. In the past month, Gude has picked up offers from Alabama, Oregon, Texas A&M, and now, Ohio State. 

“It’s been great, a dream come true, really,” Gude told Eleven Warriors of what the last month has been like. “It’s what I’ve been working for and it’s really paying off. It’s really making me go harder because now I have to work to compete with the people who are already there and committed and stuff. I’m not competing against the same people I was before, it’s bigger than this now. I’m competing with the world, really, now.” 

Safeties coach Perry Eliano made the offer to Gude on Tuesday, but the Georgia prospect said he’s also been recruited by Tim Walton, as the cornerbacks coach stopped by Langston Hughes in early January. 

“(Getting the OSU offer was) great, because it was an offer I’ve been waiting on,” Gude said. “OSU obviously has put a lot of DBs in the league. And I have an opportunity to go be a part of that.”

Gude said he’s spoken with both Eliano and Walton several times. Neither has mentioned a specific spot on the field they envision Gude lining up at, as he has played all over the field in high school. While Eliano offered Gude Tuesday, Walton told Gude he’d give him a call later in the evening.

“Coach Eliano liked how versatile I was as an athlete, he said I have a dawg in me,” Gude said. “He liked that I played special teams and thought I was a good player.”

Gude played for Sandy Creek High School (Tyrone, Georgia) as a junior before transferring to Langston Hughes for his senior year. At Sandy Creek, Gude lined up as an outside linebacker, a slot cornerback and occasionally in the deep third of the field.

In seven games at Sandy Creek, Gude racked up 25 tackles, one sack, one quarterback hurry, one interception that he returned for a touchdown, a blocked punt that he returned for a touchdown and three pass deflections. 

Gude does not yet hold a 247Sports composite ranking. He has 13 Division I offers in total, including Alabama, Oregon, Texas A&M, Indiana, Georgia Tech, Arkansas, Georgia State and Akron. 

The Georgia prospect said he plans to visit OSU on March 25. 

“I just want to see how the meetings go, how they’re coached and the coaches interact with the players,” Gude said. “Really just want to see what it’s like. I want to see the campus and really see if the coaches are showing love. Want to see if they really want me.” 

Gude said he’s high on what Ohio State has to offer.

“I’d say they’re up there,” Gude said when asked where OSU ranks in his recruitment.

While Thurman and Gude weren’t teammates, they are friends. Gude envisions Thurman reaching out to him to recruit him to Columbus. 

“That’s my guy Jelani,” Gude said. “I haven’t really talked too much to him (about Ohio State), but now that I have the offer, I’m sure he’s going to keep telling me, ‘Come on, commit, commit!’ You never know.’

“Now I’ve got family there,” Gude said in reference to Thurman being at OSU.   

Dontrell Glover

Glover and Gude certainly were appreciative of being offered on the same day, as evidenced by their social media profiles.

Glover also holds 13 Division I offers including UCF, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Miami, UAB, Indiana, South Carolina, USF, Mississippi State and Texas. He was Langston Hughes’ left tackle last season when the Panthers went 15-0.

Demello Jones puts OSU in top 10

One of Ohio State’s defensive back targets in the 2024 class has narrowed down his recruitment. Four-star Georgia prospect Demello Jones released a top 10 Monday consisting of Ohio State, Georgia, North Carolina, Miami, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Notre Dame and South Carolina. 

Jones picked up his Ohio State offer on Jan. 19 from Tim Walton and plans to visit OSU, though does not know a specific date as of yet.

“(Coach Walton) likes that I'm a multi-position player and that I can do it all and also play any position that I want to,” Jones told Eleven Warriors earlier this month. “Coach Walton is a great guy and we keep in contact every day. Ohio State is a powerhouse program and I think anybody would feel good to be wearing that Buckeye uniform.”

In 2022, Jones made 44 tackles and six pass breakups as a cornerback. Offensively, he ran for 1,279 yards on 122 carries (10.5 yards per carry) with 20 touchdowns while catching 14 passes for 382 yards and seven receiving touchdowns.

Trent Wilson to visit Columbus

A coveted defensive lineman in the 2025 class has confirmed he’ll visit Ohio State later this spring. Maryland prospect Trent Wilson confirmed he plans to visit OSU on March 25.

The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Wilson has picked up more than 20 Division I offers including Alabama, Akron, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

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