Five-star CB could pick Ohio State next week

The Ohio State football program has a busy week ahead. Both players and coaches are preparing for one of its most anticipated match-ups this season as Penn State comes to Columbus. The Nittany Lions were the only team to beat the Buckeyes last year in the regular season, and you can be assured that Urban Meyer and the coaching staff are doing all they can to ensure the opposite occurs this year.

Because of the hype surrounding the game, ESPN, Fox Sports, and the Big Ten Network are all slated to be on Ohio State’s campus Saturday. The atmosphere is expected to be electric, and to add to the excitement, Ohio State’s creative team proved Monday why they are the best in the country with the release of the Buckeyes' alternative jerseys for the game.

Since Meyer has taken over the reins of the Ohio State football program, the Buckeyes have donned multiple jersey alternates in a continuous effort to boost recruiting. Meyer knows the important role recruiting plays in keeping the program at an elite level and has proven it time and time again. This is why recruiting never stops at Ohio State, even leading up to a crucial game.

Update on Anthony Cook

We have covered the recruitment of Anthony Cook (Houston, TX/Lamar) heavily, as he is one of the best prospects still uncommitted to a program. The five-star CB has shown interest in Ohio State for a long time and has the team listed among his top three schools along with LSU and Texas.

We are now less than a week from Cook’s scheduled announcement, and it appears that the elite CB is still unsure of where he will continue his football career. However, given the short amount of time between now and his announcement date next Monday, Oct. 30, he knows he needs to make one soon.

Sam Spiegelman of SEC Country spoke with Cook this past weekend and Cook opened up on his decision and his thoughts on his finalists ahead of his decision. When it came to Ohio State, Cook was impressed.

Cook told Spiegelman that when it comes to developing him as a player, he believes Ohio State would be the best fit. This is obviously an important aspect he will be considering while making his decision. He recognizes Meyer and the Ohio State coaching staff’s ability to develop players into first round draft picks, defensive backs in particular. The Buckeyes had two CBs selected in last years NFL Draft class and current Buckeye CB Denzel Ward will look to continue that streak this year.

Cook also told Spiegelman that he is still unsure as to where he will be heading. So it's tough for anyone to predict what school he will choose. But what we do know is that Cook’s recruitment looked to be a two-horse race for the majority of his recruitment, with Ohio State and Texas. And while LSU has certainly closed the gap, it is still widely expected that the school he chooses will either be the Buckeyes or the Longhorns.

In speaking with Spiegelman, Cook said that if he were to pick Texas, it would be because he wants to continue playing football in his home state. Whether or not that is the most important factor in his recruitment remains to be seen, but if it is not, the Buckeyes may have the best chance at landing the elite prospect.

The 6'0, 168-pound CB is seen as the No. 2 CB in the 2018 class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and is the No. 14 overall player in the class, regardless of position.

Update on Micah Parsons

If you have followed 5-star defensive end Micah Parsons’ (Harrisburg, PA/Harrisburg) recruitment you know that it has been anything but stable. Parsons was at one point a Penn State commit, but after visiting other schools, he decided to re-open his recruitment.

At the time of his de-commitment, it was expected that Ohio State was the favorite. But then his official visit to the school for the Oklahoma game took place and everything changed. Parsons took to Twitter after the Ohio State loss and questioned whether red-shirt QB Dwayne Haskins should be starting over J.T. Barrett and the Buckeyes’ coaching staff was not happy.

While Parsons has since said that he understands it was not his place to speak on Ohio State’s QB situation, he doesn’t regret saying it because it was a learning process. However, it seems that things still haven’t been completely smoothed out.

Adam Friedman of Rivals.com spoke with Parsons recently on where he sits currently in his recruitment. The elite DE prospect talked about where his relationship with the Ohio State coaching staff currently stands and unfortunately, it doesn’t seem reparable.

It appears that Parsons will now be Penn State’s to lose. Ohio State was realistically in the driver's seat before his official visit to Columbus, but if a recruit doesn’t feel comfortable at a particular program, it is best he commits elsewhere.

Ohio State is still looking to add one or two more members to its defensive line in this year’s class and will now be focusing on four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai (Pocatello, ID/Highland) and four-star DE Tyreke Smith (Cleveland, OH/Cleveland Heights.) Both are Ohio State leans and Smith is scheduled to announce his decision Jan. 4th at the Under Armour All-American game.

Quick Hits:

• Ohio State four-star RB commit Brian Snead (Seffner, FL/Armwood) received his Under Armour All-American jersey Monday, in what he said was a dream come true.

• Ohio State missed out on Elijah Weaver, as the four-star PG committed to USC over Ohio State, Florida, and Oklahoma State.