It's entirely possible nobody has had to work harder to be part of Ohio State's 2025 recruiting class than Jake Cook.
The Westerville North standout dedicated a year to refining his body, losing more than 40 pounds, and his technique to make himself an Ohio State-caliber prospect.
It didn't stop there, either, as Cook had to go through two workouts with the Buckeyes in June to be considered for an offer. After both sessions concluded, an offer didn't come initially, leading to some disappointment from Cook.
But that changed on the Saturday before Father's Day with one phone call from Justin Frye.
The Cook File
- Class: 2025
- Size: 6-5/295
- Pos: C
- School: Westerville North (Westerville, Ohio)
- Composite Rating: ★★★
- Composite Rank: #616 (#39 IOL)
“He called me and asked what I was doing," Cook told Eleven Warriors in a precommit interview. "I was just chilling and had just gotten done golfing. He asked me what I got my dad for Father’s Day. Admittedly, I told him I still needed to go do that. He told me ‘How about for Father’s Day you take him to Ohio State on an official visit next week and you announce your commitment while we’re all at dinner?' I was like, ‘What?’ He said ‘Yeah, man, you’ve got an offer to Ohio State now.’”
Cook had grown up rooting for the Buckeyes and grew up right down the road from the school, so he needed all of five seconds to fully accept the offer. He had been committed to Louisville since February, but backed off his pledge to the Cardinals a few days after earning the offer. Cook announced his commitment to OSU on the Friday of his official visit as Frye suggested, then made it public two days later.
“It’s a huge blessing for me, it’s every Ohio kid’s dream to be a part of the Buckeyes,” Cook said. “I’m excited to wake up and compete against the best and get coached by the best every single day. It’s a blessing and I’m ready to work. It really didn’t hit me (I had the offer) until I woke up the next morning. I was like ‘Oh God, this really happened.’”
Staying HOME! #Committed #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Mjbb62H37z
— Jake Cook (@CookJake52) June 23, 2024
With Cook in the fold for OSU, the Buckeyes now have two offensive linemen committed in 2025 and 18 commits total, as he joins fellow in-state lineman Carter Lowe. OSU is far from done adding to its offensive trenches for this cycle though and still hopes to take up to three more linemen in 2025. The Buckeyes’ top remaining offensive line targets include David Sanders Jr., Josh Petty and Jayvon McFadden.
| Pos | Name | Rating | Rank | Size | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | DEVIN SANCHEZ | ★★★★★ | #5 NATL | #1 CB | 6-2 | 170 | North Shore (Houston, Texas) |
| CB | NA'EEM OFFORD | ★★★★★ | #6 NATL | #2 CB | 6-1 | 185 | Parker (Birmingham, Alabama) |
| QB | TAVIEN ST. CLAIR | ★★★★★ | #14 NATL | #3 QB | 6-4 | 210 | Bellefontaine (Bellefontaine, Ohio) |
| S | FAHEEM DELANE | ★★★★ | #34 NATL | #2 S | 6-2 | 195 | Good Counsel (Olney, Maryland) |
| LB | TARVOS ALFORD | ★★★★ | #47 NATL | #5 LB | 6-2 | 210 | Vero Beach (Vero Beach, Florida) |
| WR | QUINCY PORTER | ★★★★ | #49 NATL | #8 WR | 6-3 | 190 | Bergen Catholic (Oradell, New Jersey) |
| OT | CARTER LOWE | ★★★★ | #54 NATL | #7 OT | 6-5 | 290 | Whitmer (Toledo, Ohio) |
| DE | ZAHIR MATHIS | ★★★★ | #60 NATL | #5 Edge | 6-6 | 225 | Imhotep Institute (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
| RB | BO JACKSON | ★★★★ | #81 NATL | #5 RB | 6-0 | 205 | Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| DE | LONDON MERRITT | ★★★★ | #116 NATL | #13 DL | 6-2 | 250 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) |
| TE | NATE ROBERTS | ★★★★ | #132 NATL | #6 TE | 6-4 | 235 | Washington (Washington, Oklahoma) |
| S | DESHAWN STEWART | ★★★★ | #295 NATL | #26 S | 6-2 | 185 | DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey) |
| WR | DE'ZIE JONES | ★★★★ | #313 NATL | #42 WR | 6-0 | 180 | DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey) |
| S | CODY HADDAD | ★★★★ | #376 NATL | #18 ATH | 6-1 | 175 | St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| LB | ELI LEE | ★★★★ | #380 NATL | #41 LB | 6-3 | 230 | Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) |
| RB | ISAIAH WEST | ★★★ | #526 NATL | #45 RB | 5-11 | 208 | St. Joseph's Prep School (Philadelphia, PA) |
| OL | JAKE COOK | ★★★ | #617 NATL | #39 IOL OL | 6-5 | 295 | Westerville North (Westerville, OH) |
| WR | BODPEGN MILLER | ★★★ | NA | 6-4 | 180 | Ontario (Mansfield, OH) |
| Prospect Rating Data: 247Sports Composite | |||||
Ohio State finds its center in Cook
Per 247Sports' composite rankings, Cook is considered the No. 616 prospect and the No. 39 interior offensive lineman in the 2025 class.
Cook has played left tackle for his high school the past two seasons and played left guard his freshman year. He’ll play center primarily in Columbus and says he plans on playing all five positions on the offensive line for Westerville North this season.
"The main thing for me at center, I can snap the ball but it’s really getting comfortable at that position obviously," Cook said. "Every day in practice, whether in individual periods or running the second string in, I’m off on the side trying to get some snaps in. I try to get about 100 snaps in per day and practice steps, pulling, things like that."
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Cook says he will be an early enrollee and be in Columbus this January.
“Besides the body composition, I’d say I’ve improved on my explosiveness and just my ability to move," Cook said of where he's improved the most over the past year. "I’d say wrestling helped a lot with that, wrestling got me mean as hell. It made me a tough guy.”
With offensive line being such a developmental position at the next level, it's fair to expect a year or two for Cook to develop into a game-ready player.
While Cook may not have been on the Buckeyes' radar until recently, it's worth noting how far he's come in a short time frame. Cook opened some eyes in May by dominating at the Under Armour Next Camp in May, being named a positional MVP. He also completely surprised Frye and Ryan Day at OSU's first recruiting camp, leading Day to tell Cook he completely made them reevaluate their recruiting board.
If he continues the same work ethic throughout his OSU career, it wouldn't be surprising to see him turn in a very respectable collegiate body of work with the Buckeyes.
