Five-star Texas (Houston/Lamar HS) cornerback Anthony Cook announced his Top 3 late Monday night, and the Ohio State Buckeyes made the cut.
He announced the news via Twitter, including Texas and LSU with the OSU on his list.
Cook (6-0 168) is ranked the No. 2 cornerback in the 2018 class per 247Sports and the No. 13 prospect in the nation overall. He also holds offers from Florida State, Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, and every other program that you would expect to see courting a 5-star Texan.
An Army All-American, Cook visited Ohio State back in April for the Buckeyes’ spring game. OSU is currently the favorite in terms of 247’s Crystal Ball guesses, leading Texas 80% to 20%.
“In the draft, they just produced three defensive backs first round,” Cook said of Ohio State while speaking to TexasHSFootball.com this spring. “They just consistently put first-round DBs in the league. That’s attractive to a recruit when a school can put your position first round at the next level. That’s what you look for and if I know I can go to a school that can develop me and get me to the next level, and not just the next level, but first round, why not?”
Ohio State signed four Texans in the 2017 class, including 5-star prospects Jeffrey Okudah and Baron Browning.
“I talk to those guys,” Cook told TexasHSFootball.com. “I’m pretty close with them. They just tell me the same thing — that Ohio State is everything they thought it would be.”
The Buckeyes currently have one cornerback committed in Florida prospect Sevyn Banks, and possibly another in Pennsylvania’s Marcus Hooker. Hooker could end up at safety, however.
Ohio State is still also in the mix for 5-star Florida cornerback Tyson Campbell. Campbell (6-3 180) plays for American Heritage High School in Fort Lauderdale and is the No. 3 cornerback in the 247Sports Composite. Campbell visited Ohio State back in the spring as well.
Anthony Cook Highlights
As you’ll see, Cook excels at both press and off-man coverage. In off coverage, he is able to use his eyes and watch the quarterback and take advantage of poor high school throwers. He can come off of his man and almost act as a zone defender on poor throws. He can also sneak a peek at the QB in inopportune times and still has plenty of makeup speed if a receiver gets behind him. He is also effective at avoiding blocks in off coverage.
As a press corner, he has no problem staying with receivers or keeping them from getting off of the line. He appears to be a fairly complete corner. Given his abilities, Ohio State recruiting a prospect like Cook should come as no surprise.
