Ohio State hopes to land a 5-star cornerback this month

The Ohio State football program is entering its bye week, giving both players and coaches an extra week to watch game tape and practice in preparation for their matchup versus Penn State. And while players will likely have some extra free time this week, the Ohio State coaching staff isn’t taking a break, as both Urban Meyer and Greg Schiano traveled to Houston, Texas Monday to watch and talk with Anthony Cook.

Cook has been a priority for Ohio State since the program offered him in July of 2016, and the wait is finally over. The five-star cornerback is scheduled to announce his collegiate decision on October 30 and wrapped up his final official visit last weekend at LSU.

Cook is down to a final three of Texas, LSU, and Ohio State, with the Buckeyes long being seen as the favorite to land his services. However, after visiting Austin twice this fall, the Longhorns have appeared to have narrowed that gap and it looks to be more of a two-horse race with LSU on the outside looking in.

Because of the recent development, the Ohio State coaching staff felt it necessary to visit Cook during the bye week to ensure they have done all they can do to earn a commitment from him. According to Andrew Lind of Eleven Warriors, Ohio State sent the house, as both Meyer and Schiano visited Cook Monday.

Cook is seen as one of the top players in the entire 2018 recruiting class. The 247Sports Composite Rankings have the 6'0, 168-pound CB listed as the No. 2 CB in the class and the No. 14 overall recruit, regardless of position.

The Ohio State coaching staff has been all-in on Cook while finalizing their recruiting class this year. The program likely could have landed four-star CB Houston Griffith, who committed to Florida State last week, but communication between the two dwindled as Ohio State shifted its focus directly on Cook.

This will likely be the last time the coaching staff and Cook will have time to talk before his commitment date later this month. While he is still expected to commit to the Buckeyes, nothing is certain because Cook himself has still yet to come to a decision. Ohio State has done all it can to land Cook and now all the coaches can do is play the waiting game.

2019 4-star OT lists Ohio State in top 4

With Ohio State’s 2018 recruiting class filling up quickly, the Buckeyes’ coaching staff has begun shifting its focus towards next year’s class. Urban Meyer and the rest of his staff are among the best at scouting young talent, which gives the program an incredible head start at building relationships with elite level recruits early on in the recruiting cycle.

The Ohio State coaches have started to see their work pay off as the program learned they made the cut for one of 2019’s best offensive tackles. Four-star OT Harry Miller (Buford, GA/Buford) spoke with Chad Simmons of Rivals.com and confirmed the Buckeyes are one of his top four schools right now.

Along with Ohio State, Miller listed Clemson, Georgia, and Michigan as his top four schools. He has unofficially visited all four schools, meaning it will be important to get him back on campus a few more times in order to secure a commitment.

Miller has shown enough in just two and a half seasons of high school football to be seen as the No. 14 OT in the class and the No. 110 overall recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Alongside this, Rivals.com has him slated as their No. 13 OT and No. 84 overall recruit, and if Miller continues to play at a high level through his senior season, he will only continue to receive more accolades.

Ohio State views the offensive line as the highest of priorities and Miller would make an excellent addition to four-star OT Doug Nester, the Buckeyes' lone commitment in the 2019 class.

Quick Hit:

Ohio State four-star DE target and Cleveland native Tyreke Smith visited Alabama this past weekend and appeared to enjoy it. The Buckeyes are still the favorite to land Smith, but both Alabama and Penn State are working on getting a commitment from him as well.