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Michigan, Miami, Louisville, Pitt offer Hoban's Payton Cook; Ohio State interested

Hoban wide receiver Payton Cook catches a second-half touchdown pass against St. Ignatius on Sept. 16, 2022.
Hoban wide receiver Payton Cook catches a second-half touchdown pass against St. Ignatius on Sept. 16, 2022.

It may sound like a record skipping, but there’s another super sophomore at Hoban with Power Five offers.

This time it’s wide receiver Payton Cook, and he’s blowing up on the recruiting scene.

Cook joins incoming 10th-graders Sam Greer and Elbert Hill as Knights with big-name schools after him.

“It's been wild,” Cook said. “I didn't expect all this recruiting to happen so fast for me. I've just been dealing with it, rolling with the punches. I've been asking so many people so many questions that have been through it. I’m just trying to figure out what to do and just trying to really do what's best for me.”

As a freshman, Cook caught 17 passes for 249 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Where it started, how it's going for Hoban wide receiver Payton Cook

Solid numbers for a first-year receiver, but what has happened since Pittsburgh offered him right before the state final is stuff of cinema.

Since then, the 6-foot-2, 170-pound standout was named the wide receiver MVP at the Michigan camp.

He’s sat down with Jim Harbaugh and talked. He’s got an offer from the Wolverines, Miami (Fla.), Louisville and Kentucky.

Yes, Buckeyes fans, Ohio State knows about him, too.

While Ryan Day hasn’t pulled the trigger with an offer, offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline taught Cook the finer points of running routes in one-on-one drills.

In case you're wondering, Cook runs a 4.5 40-yard dash.

“It definitely meant a lot to me because those are big names in the college industry,” Cook said. “I'm just trying not to think about how big a moment it is and who I'm talking to. I just try to treat it as a normal situation. I don't let it get to my head."

Ohio State is one of many Power Five conference schools interested in the services of super sophomore Payton Cook of Hoban.
Ohio State is one of many Power Five conference schools interested in the services of super sophomore Payton Cook of Hoban.

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The future looks incredible for Hoban wide receiver Payton Cook

Cook's recruiting situation should be anything but normal by the time he’s a senior.

Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell saw great things from his budding star when he scored two touchdowns and had more than 150 yards receiving in a 28-7 win over St. Ignatius.

He expects more of the same this fall.

“He handled being a freshman at the varsity level very well,” Tyrrell said. He's a very strong-minded kid and handles pressure very well. I don't know how to say this properly, but he holds an adult conversation very well when it comes to recruiting and doing those things.

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“He has impressed the college coaches on how he just talks to them. Coach Harbaugh told me, ‘I can have a full conversation with him about football and it sounds like he's a senior or freshman in college. He's obviously been brought up the ... right way inside of his sports world.”

Some of that comes from players such as Greer, Hill and William Satterwhite, off whom he can bounce recruiting questions.

Some of it comes from the fact he used to be a quarterback.

“It's definitely helped me,” Cook said. “I had to be a leader on my team when I was a quarterback. You’ve got to learn everybody's position, basically. I just use that quarterback knowledge and try transfer it to wide receiver.”

It has Hoban amped for what could be a magical 2023 season as Cook joins a wealth of other talented players.

“He's constantly coming in and saying, ‘This is the type of stuff I want to learn how to do,’” Tyrrell said. “And he's trying it, which is hard to do because he could just beat people deep. He's trying to do the above-average thing instead of just being OK with just beating the typical kid. He's trying to do what those elite people are trying to do.”

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Payton Cook of Hoban garners Power Five college football interest