Jake Cook Exhibiting Toughness, Embracing Pressure of Being Ohio State Commit in Final High School Season
By
Dan Hope on October 20, 2024 at 8:35 am
@dan_hope
Email this Article
Share on RedditShare on TwitterShare on Facebook
12 Comments
Jake Cook is refusing to let an ankle injury keep him on the sideline in his final season at Westerville North High School.
The Ohio State commit suffered the injury in Westerville North’s second game of the season when a defender landed on the back of his right ankle. While doctors told him he’d need four to five weeks to recover from the injury, Cook sat out just one game before returning to action.
Cook got rolled up on again in his first game back, making the injury worse. But Cook has kept on playing because he doesn’t want to let his team down in his senior year – and because he knows he has to be physically and mentally tough as he prepares to begin his Ohio State career in January.
“That's just my mentality. Coach Day even preaches it: You gotta be tough at Ohio State,” Cook told
Eleven Warriors on Friday after Westerville North’s 35-24 win over Worthington Kilbourne. “And I wanna be with my team, with all the guys that I've been playing with the past four years, so I just wanna finish this out with them.”
Cook has been a repeated visitor at Ohio State’s home games this season and has been impressed with the improvements the Buckeyes’ offensive line has made from last season. He says he speaks regularly with Ohio State’s offensive linemen and that they have taught him about the importance of playing with proper technique.
“You just gotta be tough and just be sound,” Cook says of what he’s learned from Ohio State’s offensive line. “A lot of guys just wanna go out and just hit someone. You gotta play sound and you gotta go 100% in everything you do and you gotta make sure you're doing it right.”
Cook is currently one of only three offensive linemen in Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class along with fellow in-state prospect
Carter Lowe and Maryland four-star prospect
Jayvon McFadden. But he says he’s been talking to Alabama offensive tackle commit
Micah DeBose and Georgia Tech offensive tackle commit
Damola Ajidahun as the Buckeyes work on trying to flip them to add to their offensive line class.
Cook has been a repeated visitor at Ohio State’s home games this season and has been impressed with the improvements the Buckeyes’ offensive line has made from last season. He says he speaks regularly with Ohio State’s offensive linemen and that they have taught him about the importance of playing with proper technique.
“You just gotta be tough and just be sound,” Cook says of what he’s learned from Ohio State’s offensive line. “A lot of guys just wanna go out and just hit someone. You gotta play sound and you gotta go 100% in everything you do and you gotta make sure you're doing it right.”
Cook is currently one of only three offensive linemen in Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class along with fellow in-state prospect
Carter Lowe and Maryland four-star prospect
Jayvon McFadden. But he says he’s been talking to Alabama offensive tackle commit
Micah DeBose and Georgia Tech offensive tackle commit
Damola Ajidahun as the Buckeyes work on trying to flip them to add to their offensive line class.
“Keep eyes on Micah,” Cook said. “I talk with Micah probably, this season, probably once every week, once every two weeks.”
Ohio State commit Jake Cook has impressed Westerville North coach Stanley Jackson with his “elite toughness” as he’s played through an ankle injury in his senior season.
www.elevenwarriors.com