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Nation's No. 1 recruit Jackson Cantwell down to six schools

Wg0vf-nP_400x400by:Keegan Pope•about 13 hours•

bykeeganpope

Jackson Cantwell 4 copy 1.jpg

Five-Star Plus+ offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell is down to six schools in his recruitment, he told On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Sunday.

Among the remaining contenders are: Georgia, Michigan, Miami, Missouri, Ohio State and Oregon.

Cantwell, out of Nixa (Mo.), is the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

The 6-foot-7, 305-pounder has been on campus with each of his top six over the past year, including multiple trips to see Missouri, Oregon and Georgia. He visited Michigan and Ohio State late in November, and both of those programs made a strong impression on him.

“I had a lot of fun at Michigan and Ohio State,” he told On3’s Steve Wiltfong at the Under Armour All-America Bowl. “Those are just two great places. I learned a lot from talking ball with the coaches at Michigan, and I got to learn a lot more about the program at Ohio State. It was good to get to tour that; it was a really enjoyable trip.”

The in-state Tigers will be another school in it until the end, and Eli Drinkwitz and Co. have made Cantwell their No. 1 priority.

“It’s really tough to get away from Missouri because they put such a huge emphasis on in-state guys. That’s their biggest recruiting priority right now,” he said. “Coach Drinkwitz wants to get in-state guys. Try to make it tough as possible for guys to leave the state.”

Miami, Georgia and Oregon very much in the mix as well

The Hurricanes are one of the more surprising teams to make the list, but despite just one trip to Coral Gables, head coach Mario Cristobal and the culture he is building are standing out.

“Their staff, they’re known for wanting to develop offensive linemen,” Cantwell told Wiltfong. “They want to have a great offensive line. That’s some of the things that excites me about Coach Cristobal.”

He also spoke about both the Bulldogs and Ducks, who have been considered among the strongest contenders to land him.

Georgia: “They do a lot of things right. They do a lot of attention to detail. I like Coach Searels a lot. Coach Searels is definitely one of my favorite o-line coaches I’ve seen so far. When you’re at Georgia you can recruit incredibly well so obviously that will help Coach Searels out a lot but he also does a pretty good job developing those guys and getting them ready to go play at the next level. That is something I’ve always been excited about with them. And then it’s just UGA. You grow up you see UGA play in the National Championship a lot and I think they have a really good chance to win one this year so it’s always good to be a contender when looking at schools.”

Oregon: “A’lique Terry has done a fantastic job building those guys up on the offensive line. They coach about as well as anybody. I think Dan Lanning (Kansas City native) is one of the most likable dudes in college football right now as far as college football goes. I can confirm he’s like that all the time. He’s just a great dude. He knows a lot of guys in our Missouri area, in Southwest Missouri. I get to talk to him a lot and I’ve really enjoyed building that relationship.”