Battling Brian Robinson in practice helped '25 IOL Jake Cook land Kentucky offer

Brian Robinson is considered one of the prize pickups of Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class, which ranks 23rd in the nation. Robinson is the Wildcats’ top-ranked commit, checking in at No. 147 overall with four-star status. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound EDGE was a massive recruiting win for associate head coach Vince Marrow and company.

Could Kentucky parlay that relationship into another commitment from one of Robinson’s high school teammates?

Class of 2025 IOL Jake Cook also suits up at Westerville (OH) North and goes up against Robinson every single day during practice. That matchup helped Cook develop into a legitimate Divison I prospect on the offensive line, leading to multiple Power 5 offers during his junior season this past fall. Louisville and Georgia Tech offered Cook in November before Kentucky came calling with one on the first day of December.

“It was really good,” Cook told KSR on Monday about his conversation with Kentucky coaches when he was extended a scholarship. “Coach Marrow was supposed to come to the school today but couldn’t make it. My coach, Stanley Jackson, he told me to give (Marrow) a call after school. I called him and he put me on the phone with Coach (Zach) Yenser, the o-line coach, and then they just told me straight up ‘We love what you’re doing, your film this year was amazing,’ and then they offered me. Their biggest thing was they just told me to keep getting stronger and faster so I’m gonna continue to do that.”

Extremely excited to have received my 16th Division 1 Scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky! #BBN 🔵 @UKCoachStoops @OL_Coach_Yenser @vincemarrow @AllenTrieu @Rivals_Clint @Jacksonville8 pic.twitter.com/AGk9JBoT9k

— Jake Cook (@CookJake52) December 1, 2023

Cook has been in contact with Kentucky since his freshman season, but it wasn’t until he took a camp visit to UK last summer that the communication really started to heat up. Cook then dropped his weight from 320 pounds as a sophomore all the way down to 290 as a junior. Now, he’s focused on putting on “good” weight and it’s caught the eyes of college coaches. Cook says he’s hearing regularly from the likes of Louisville, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Michigan State’s new coaching staff, and Pittsburgh.

Louisville might just be the school to watch right now — he’s visited the Cardinals three times since March — but now that Kentucky has officially offered, the Wildcats are firmly in the mix. Robinson is making sure of it, too. Cook was actually on a visit to Louisville and sat in the stands to watch Kentucky beat the Cardinals in the Governor’s Cup for the fifth straight season.

“He’s been bugging me every day (about Kentucky),” Cook said of Robinson. “Especially ever since I got that Louisville offer, he kept yapping on me, especially after Kentucky beat them in the game.”

Cook was at Kroger Field for a gameday visit earlier this season, as well. He was joined by Robinson in Lexington when Kentucky lost to Missouri back in the middle of October. The result obviously wasn’t what UK was looking for, but that hasn’t deterred the mutual interest. Cook says Marrow and Yenser talk with him every week. Once he’s able to, official visits to Kentucky and Louisville will be scheduled.

On the field, Cook primarily plays left tackle for his high school. However, most schools are recruiting him to play inside at guard or center. Battling against Robinson in practice has helped him improve as an all-around lineman.

“With Brian, honestly that was a huge thing too,” Cook said. “Getting reps against him every day in practice. Me and him going one-on-one every day in practice. That really helped a lot too, and for him as well. Us two going up against each other.”