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Hurry: 2025 OL Ohio Jake Cook, 2026 four-star DE Braeden Jones and 2027 DL TK Cunningham pick up Ohio State offers, Isaiah Gibson decommits from USC

Posted on by angelo
Hurry: 2025 OL Ohio Jake Cook, 2026 four-star DE Braeden Jones and 2027 DL TK Cunningham pick up Ohio State offers, Isaiah Gibson decommits from USC

It’s been a busy summer for 2025 Ohio offensive lineman Jake Cook.

The Westerville North star practiced at Ohio State twice this month to audition for an offer from the Buckeyes, but despite impressive workouts each time, he left campus without the school’s coveted offer to which he grew up in. That changed Saturday when Justin Frye called Cook and told him the Buckeyes had evaluated his film and were ready to offer him.

“Obviously it’s been a long process, but it’s been my dream since I was seven years old to get that offer and have the opportunity to play there one day,” Cook said. Eleven warriors Wednesday. “It’s really good because I felt like I had something to prove after my sophomore season. After my junior season, I knew I had to prove even more. It was great to receive this offer after camping with them and doing a private training session with them.

Cook first appeared on campus June 5 during OSU’s first recruiting camp of the summer and felt confident in the results he achieved.

“It was a little nerve-wracking at first because I kind of went into the first camp thinking I was going to get it,” Cook said. “I ran a 5.2-second 40-yard dash, I was destroying it there and I was excited at the end because Coach Frye took me aside and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to go watch film and meet coach Day.’ »

Although Day wasn’t ready to pull the trigger yet, he acknowledged that Cook far exceeded their expectations of the 6-foot-5, 295-pound prospect. Cook had improved night and day from last year, losing 40 pounds, winning position MVP at the Under Armor Next Camp in May and carrying that performance into this camp.

“What I really like is Coach Day kept it 100 with me,” Cook said. “He said to me, ‘Jake, I’ll be honest with you, we didn’t intend to give you this offer today. We didn’t know what we were going to see. He told me I completely shocked them and made them question and redo their entire offensive line chart.

Frye texted Cook later to ask if he could come back to Columbus in a few days for a private workout, because he wanted to see him take a few center reps individually. During practice, Cook got a feel for Frye’s coaching style and felt he learned a lot about the position. He thought he performed well, but was ultimately disappointed to learn he wouldn’t be offered an offer at the end of practice.

His disappointment was eased Saturday when Frye called him and told him Ohio State had decided to pull the trigger and offer him. Cook decommitted from Louisville on Tuesday so he could fully explore the opportunity, then publicly announced the offer on Wednesday. He will make an official visit to campus this weekend.

“(Coach Frye) loved the improvement I had and said the main thing for him was that the guys preached by working hard, but he said earlier that what I have done by losing 40 pounds and changing my body, I proved it I can actually do it,” Cook said of why Frye proposed to him. “He also loved the workout film. center and said my attitude, effort and ability to move laterally was just insane.”

With Cook’s recruitment open again, he hopes to learn more about the Buckeyes’ program this weekend and see what they have to offer him in terms of a development plan.

“I’m looking forward to interacting with a group of commits and recruits there and obviously all the coaches as well,” Cook said of his upcoming visit. “I’m looking forward to getting a better feel for the program, that’s for sure.”

Braeden Jones earns OSU offer

Speaking of players who accepted an offer from the Buckeyes after a strong workout, that’s exactly what 2026 Illinois four-star defensive lineman Braeden Jones did on Tuesday. In the middle of Ohio State’s seven-on-seven high school tournament at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Jones participated in a private workout with Johnson, which later paid off in the form of an offer.

According to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Jones is considered the 231st prospect and 20th Edge Rusher in the Class of 2026. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound recruit holds 23 Division I offers, including Auburn, Florida, Kansas State, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC and Wisconsin. .

TK Cunningham picks up offer from Buckeyes

Johnson wasn’t done handing out offers yet. OSU’s defensive line coach also offered Georgia 2027 prospect TK Cunningham, two days after the 6-foot-5, 230-pound prospect camped with the Buckeyes.

Cunningham has nearly 30 Division I offers, including Arizona, Colorado, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Penn State, South Carolina, UCF and USC.

Isaiah Gibson decommits from USC

In a slightly eyebrow-raising moment, 2025 four-star defensive end Isaiah Gibson decommitted from USC on Tuesday during an official visit to Ohio State.

While it’s fun to speculate on what this might mean for OSU’s chances, the reality is that the Buckeyes might currently be behind a few SEC programs in recruiting Gibson. But anything can happen on an official visit, so OSU and Larry Johnson at least have a chance to strike here.

By the way, adding insult to injury for the ultimately Grinch-less Trojans, Justus Terry decommitted from USC on Wednesday, making it consecutive days he’s suffered a defensive lineman decommitment high level.

Jaden O’Neal places OSU in his top 10

An Ohio State quarterback who was just offered this week included the Buckeyes in his updated list of top schools.

Four-star 2026 quarterback Jaden O’Neal released a top 10 list Wednesday that includes Ohio State, Colorado, Oregon, Auburn, Arizona State, Penn State , Miami, Oklahoma, Washington and Florida State.

O’Neal, a top-100 prospect in 2026, accepted his offer from Ryan Day after an impressive camp Monday. At this point, however, the Buckeyes will have a lot of work to do to catch up to Oklahoma, the presumed favorite in this recruiting class.

Jackson Lloyd commits to Alabama, Brady Hart commits to Michigan

In expected news, an Ohio State offensive line target in the 2025 class is not in the cards. Four-star California prospect Jackson Lloyd committed to Alabama on Tuesday following his official visit with the Crimson Tide last weekend, a week after his official visit to OSU.

Meanwhile, 2026 four-star quarterback Brady Hart committed to Michigan on Tuesday, a day after being offered by OSU. With Dia Bell also off the board at Texas, the Buckeyes’ search for a 2026 signal-caller continues.