Ohio lineman grabs first Big Ten offer
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Illinois reached into familiar territory in northwest Ohio to offer 2016 offensive lineman Gavin Cupp from Leipsic, a small community approximately 60 miles from Toledo.
The 6-foot-6, 275-pound Cupp is being recruiting by Illini inside linebackers coach Mike Ward, with the contact picking up of late.
"Last year I took an unofficial visit to Illinois for the Ohio State game," Cupp said. "That was my first visit as a recruit. Then about three weeks ago they started contacting me again."
Cupp has a connection to the Illini staff. His father played on the same football team as Tim Beckman at nearby Findlay University, and the family also knows Ward quite well.
The offer from the Illini is his first from a Big Ten school.
"I'm very excited about it," Cupp said. "I love the Big Ten. I had been talking to the O-line coach Tom Brattan and to Coach Ward a lot the last couple of weeks, and then Coach Ward sent the offer to me through Twitter."
Other offers are on the table so far from West Virginia, Toledo, and Bowling Green. Cupp has an unofficial visit at West Virginia this week, then he heads to Notre Dame on Saturday to watch the Irish play Louisville.
A multiple sport athlete, Cupp is currently preparing for the upcoming basketball season at Leipsic and trying to find his court legs. Prior to starting basketball practice he took visits to Ohio State and Michigan State.
Leipsic plays in the Blanchard Valley Conference, a small school OHSA league. Despite playing at smaller school, Cupp is getting plenty of attention, and he had a good junior season on the gridiron. The Leipsic Vikings finished the season with a 5-6 record.
"Personally, my season went very well, but as a team it was frustrating," Cupp said. "I made offensive lineman of the year in our conference, first team left tackle, and 3rd team defensive end."
It was also a productive year for Cupp in terms of his development as an offensive lineman. His team changed coaches and changed schemes, and he had a chance to become more versatile and improve his overall technique.
"We had a running team my freshman and sophomore years," he said. "This year we are more of a spread team. At first the new techniques were hard to adjust to, but it benefited me more than anything."