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Jake Cook, 2025 OL recruit, tried to 'be like a sponge' during Ohio State football visit

colin gay, the columbus dispatch
·4 min read

Jake Cook had been around Ohio State’s football program before, growing up 20 minutes away and going to games.

The Westerville North sophomore offensive lineman also attended a spring practice and the Buckeyes’ spring game, his first opportunities to see what it would be like for him to join the program he grew up watching.

But Saturday afternoon was different. It was Cook’s first time on the Ohio Stadium sideline during an actual game, watching the Buckeyes earn their second Big Ten win of the season against Rutgers.

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However, Cook’s approach remained the same. His goal was to learn as much as possible.

“When I go on visits like this, I kind of just try to be like a sponge,” Cook said. “Just soak it all in.”

Cook knows he’s on the path to play high-level college football somewhere.

Right when the 6-foot-5, 295-pound lineman joined Westerville North as a freshman, he was inserted into the starting lineup, earning offers to Akron, Ball State, Eastern Kentucky, Marshall, Massachusetts and Miami (OH) before his sophomore season began.

Cook’s relationship with Ohio State began as a freshman, meeting former offensive line coach Greg Studrawa when he visited his school and later camping with the Buckeyes twice this past summer and working with the program’s new offensive line coach, Justin Frye.

Saturday afternoon, Cook had the chance to see Frye in action, warming up big, athletic linemen. Cook was floored.

“They’re just a bunch of big dudes that can move,” Cook said. “Like, you don’t really see that a lot. For example, Dawand Jones: that guy is like 6-9 and he’s moving like a tight end. It’s just awesome the way those guys move.”

They are attributes Cook says he has, something he will continue to hone after one more year of wrestling at Westerville North, looking to put on good muscle and weight to look bigger and leaner.

They are attributes Ohio State sees in Cook too, telling him that the program is “really high” on him as an interior lineman, viewing him as a potential fit at either guard or center despite him playing left tackle in high school.

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And while Cook doesn’t have an Ohio State offer, he’s confident one will come eventually, whether it’s during the winter months immediately after his high school season or over the summer.

“Their biggest thing is they want to see a lot of film on their linemen,” Cook said. “Two years of film or so, they said, so that’s why it’s good I played last year, all 11 games as a freshman.

It’s the journey Luke Montgomery has already been on.

Talking with the 2023 Ohio State offensive line commit before the Buckeyes’ win against Rutgers Saturday, Cook said the majority of Montgomery’s big offers came after his sophomore season, while also saying all the team is looking for is “a big dude who can move fast and play fast.”

Cook was impressed with how connected Ohio State’s offensive linemen were with the rest of the team.

“You have your own group like the O-linemen, the wide receivers, the quarterbacks, all that,” Cook said. “But these guys play as one. They are definitely 11 guys playing as one.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jake Cook, Ohio State recruit from Westerville North, sees Rutgers win