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.
Staying HOME! #Committed #GoBucks 🌰 pic.twitter.com/Mjbb62H37z
— Jake Cook (@CookJake52) June 23, 2024
“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 sophom*ore season. Looking back, Cook admits that those early offers may have hurt him.
“I kind of just thought like ‘All right, I already have a couple of offers. The rest will just flow in.’ ” Cook said. “I didn’t really take care of my body how I needed to. I didn’t control my weight. That kind of hurt me sophom*ore year.”
Tony Cook, Jake’s father, said his son “got too big too quickly” and eclipsed 300 pounds as a sophom*ore. Jackson said he remembers Jake Cook struggling with his movement because he was “overweight and out of shape.”
And while offers continued to come, they continued to come from similar schools.
Throughout his sophom*ore year, Jake Cook said he was “losing faith” that he would commit to a program like Ohio State, let alone any other Power Five program.
Cook said Eric Lichter, the Ohio State director of football performance under Tressel and co-founder of Plus Two University training in Columbus, made reality clear: If Cook's body did not change, his recruitment would not take the next step.
“I’ll be honest, that was something I didn’t want to hear from him,” Cook said. “Like it sucks to say, but I needed to hear that and I’m so grateful I did because that really put my head on a straight path. I was like, ‘All right, it’s time to get serious. I've got 40 pounds to lose. Let’s do it. Got to keep up the speed. Got to keep strength with it.’ ”
With the help of a Westerville North staff that includes multiple coaches with Power Five experience, and an All-OCC junior wrestling season under coach David Grant, Cook cut his weight to 285 pounds and became “stronger than he’s ever been,” according to Jackson.
“He’s a fighter, and you want that in an offensive lineman,” Jackson said. “You want them to be tough as hell, you want them to want to fight to the end because at the end of the day, you know, they’re protecting your backs. And he’s always had that.”
How Jake Cook joined Ohio State 2025 recruiting class
After recruiting camp and a private workout with Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye, Cook landed firmly on Ohio State’s radar.
“They’ve done their due diligence,” Tony Cook said of Ohio State. “They’ve watched film. They’ve watched the camp film. They’ve watched his private workout film. ... They see that he definitely has the talent to play at that elite level.”
Cook earned an Ohio State offer on June 15. He then ended his commitment to Louisville before he announced his commitment to the Buckeyes during the first night of his official visit.
“It was awesome,” Cook said. “I didn't want to make a big speech, so I kind of just got up there (and) was like, ‘Hey, my name’s Jake. I’m staying home. Excited to be a part of the brotherhood. Go Bucks.’ And everybody went nuts.”
Cook is one of two offensive linemen committed to Ohio State's 2025 class along with Toledo four-star Carter Lowe.
What's next for Jake Cook at Ohio State?
With his commitment secure and his senior season ahead, Cook is working. He said he does 100 snaps each day while continuing to hone the blocking skills he picked up from Frye and looking forward to his final year on the wrestling mat.
As his son continues to work, Tony Cook said he recognizes how far Jake has come.
“The Ohio State out of contention and back in, it’s just been a total dream come true,” Tony Cook said. “He realizes the impact. He always said, ‘Carter Lowe and I, (we’re) the top two linemen in Ohio. I know this.’ And he always knew that.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How Jake Cook landed in Ohio State 2025 recruiting class
