Texas '18 TX DB - Anthony Cook (Texas Verbal)

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and defensive coordinator Greg Schiano are in Houston today to see five-star cornerback Anthony Cook.

— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) October 16, 2017

 

The social media side of the Ohio State vs. Texas battle for Anthony Cook is going to be fun https://t.co/BDXmNI13BO

— Bill Landis (@BillLandis25) October 18, 2017

 

One week until decision day for Anthony Cook

The 5-star corner goes in-depth on his 3 finalists, including where #LSU stands | https://t.co/KoiOSSBgRS pic.twitter.com/oMZ4LBaOti

— Sam Spiegelman (@samspiegs) October 23, 2017

 

I think Ohio State..............putting guys in the NFL is a key for Cook.........

 

Five-star CB Anthony Cook (@_ACook21) has pushed back his decision timeline & will not announce on Monday. https://t.co/vSKPkxGEcH pic.twitter.com/slBrVO7F6w

— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) October 29, 2017

 

Decision delayed for Anthony Cook

5-star cornerback Anthony Cook was expected to make a college decision on Monday, but that is now not the case.

From Sam Spiegelman of SEC Country:

The 6-foot, 170-pounder from Houston Lamar (Texas) High School made official visits to all three of his finalists over the past two months, including a two-day stop in Baton Rouge on Oct. 14-15. Afterward, Cook told SEC Country that he was absolutely torn between the Tigers, Longhorns and Buckeyes.

Cook has not rescheduled his commitment date, but he is on track to graduate and enroll early at the university of his choosing. In other words, he will have to make a decision sometime between now and the early signing period in December.

If Cook had decided on Monday, that was going to be bad news for the Buckeyes. The delay will absolutely help Ohio State as they hope to swing momentum back in their favor. How much? That’s debatable, but there’s at least a reprieve in what seemed like a recruiting execution.

 

WON'T BE MUCH LONGER, IT SEEMS

Houston Lamar five-star cornerback Anthony Cook received his honorary U.S. Army All-American Bowl jersey during a ceremony on Thursday morning, after which he fielded several questions about his looming college decision.

He was set to commit to a school on Oct. 30, but remains torn among LSU, Ohio State and Texas. Now with only a few weeks before early graduation, Cook has set another deadline for himself.

“Within the next week, I’ll be making a decision. It has to be soon,” Cook told SEC Country’s Sam Spiegelman. “I just know I’ve got to make a decision. It’s tough. I feel like at this point, they all have pros and cons, so it’s going to come down to where I can see myself playing the next three or four years. It’s been tough every time I think about it. Honestly, I don’t think about it that much, but now it’s coming to the point where I have to think about it. It’s been tough the last couple of weeks.”

The 6-foot, 168-pound Cook hasn’t been to Columbus since early September, when he took an official visit for the loss to Oklahoma. A trip to Austin just a few weeks later seemed to have changed the tide in his recruitment, with the Longhorns reportedly selling him on the ability to see the field early and play alongside several friends and current teammates.

With Cook slipping away, head coach Urban Meyer and defensive coordinator Greg Schiano flew to Houston during the Buckeyes' open week in late October and helped convince him to delay his decision. The hope was Cook would make it to Columbus once more before choosing a school — maybe even after the season, when the staff could give him one-on-one attention — but it appears he won't take any more visits.

That certainly doesn't bode well for Ohio State.

Nevertheless, the Buckeyes aren't giving up just yet. Assistant coordinator Kerry Coombs continues to pitch the staff's knack for sending cornerbacks to the National Football League, and the hope is the staff's nearly two-year relationship with Cook wins out.

“Coach Coombs showed me how [Jeffrey] Okudah plays a lot,” Cooks said. “He showed me his snaps compared to Denzel Ward to show how the young guys do play at Ohio State.”

As I mentioned in today's recruiting mailbag, Ohio State has a lot of talent already waiting in the wings at the cornerback position, and early playing time is something Texas and LSU can offer by comparision. Cook would have to wait his turn, likely taking a redshirt eason to build muscle on his small frame.

Is that something he'd be willing to do? I can't speak for him, but I don't imagine that's the case.

 

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Where does 5-star CB Anthony Cook stand in his decision?

The newly minted U.S. Army All-American breaks down his options and where #LSU stands. He also gave himself a deadline for making his choice | https://t.co/lf8xWuwiTV pic.twitter.com/gq2xL8DM6S

— Sam Spiegelman (@samspiegs) November 9, 2017

 

Five-star CB Anthony Cook (@_ACook21) shares the latest on his upcoming decision, final schools #HookEm #GeauxTigers #GoBucks. https://t.co/d8CSSnVUGp pic.twitter.com/eAoPVD2XFr

— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) December 4, 2017

 

#ESPN300 CB @_ACook21 will announce his commitment on December 20 per a source at Lamar High. #LSU #Longhorns #OhioState

— Gerry Hamilton (@GHamiltonOTF) December 4, 2017

 

Seems like it is trending to Texas............

 

Committing tomorrow @3 on ESPNU🙏🏾 🤘🏾🐯🌰

— Anthony Cook (@_ACook21) December 19, 2017

 

#ESPN300 cornerback Anthony Cook commits to #Hookem over #LSU ... #Longhorns top 3 class gains another pic.twitter.com/2TZT8mVPkH

— Gerry Hamilton (@GHamiltonOTF) December 20, 2017

 

We really wanted this kid a few years ago.......

Texas Longhorns cornerback Anthony Cook announces he "will not be playing another snap" for the school; the rising junior started six games last season: https://t.co/W0kGCMEPvs pic.twitter.com/h24mrMd1Kq

— 247Sports (@247Sports) June 12, 2020