“Might be closer to the end than I thought I was…” said Jackson Cantwell, the nation’s top recruit, and just like that, the pot’s officially back on the stove. Look, after Bryce Underwood’s commitment, Cantwell is the next big target, who’s now locked on to four schools: Miami, Georgia, Oregon, and Ohio State. Surprisingly, Missouri and Michigan are out of the race. And we all know how badly Kirby Smart wants to get both Cantwell and Jared Curtis onto his team. But the way Cantwell’s playing his cards, Georgia’s chances are dwindling.
Just days back, Jackson Cantwell made a bold statement on not taking any more official visits, saying, “I have all the information I need. Don’t know how an OV (official visit) would change that, really.” Stressing over the fact that he already knows what he is looking for. But all of a sudden, he made up his mind to take one last visit to Dan Lanning‘s Oregon Ducks. Wild, right? He is going to visit them on April 26-27, and the shocking part is that this guy will make his official commitment on the 30th of this month. So, is this a clear indication?
Now, talking about Jackson Cantwell’s one last visit to Oregon, transfer portal expert Steve Wiltfong talked about his intention behind it on On3 Recruits. “Well, he wants to get back out to Oregon one more time to make sure it is what he remembered it from his previous visit back in the summer. He also hasn’t seen a spring practice up there yet, though he has a few minor details, as he said, that he wants to check out,” said Wiltfong. Even his love for Dan Lanning and the program is something that’s pushing him more. As Wiltfong reveals, “He loves the culture, great head coach, talked about them winning, talking about the way that they develop his position. Dan Lanning’s his favorite head coach throughout the process, so he’s looking forward to getting back up there one more time.”
Look, Dan Lanning’s building something special at Eugene. With a 4th nationally ranked 2026 class and eight commits, their future already looks promising. What makes their position even stronger in terms of landing Cantwell is his love for track and field, something that he could do at a high level in Eugene, known as Tracktown. And he is making sure this visit makes sense, and Steve Wiltfong highlights exactly the same saying,
“Jackson Cantwell is not wasting his time. Like, he moved up his decision date because he’s tired of wasting his time. He’s like, ‘These official visits, what more can I learn on these trips? I don’t need to take them.’ But then after some thought, after some conversation, he’s like, ‘I do need to see some things at Oregon one more time,’ after taking spring visits to Miami, Michigan, and Ohio State.” So, Cantwell might just be evaluating the teams for one last time before making his final verdict.
And let’s not forget that even NIL is going to play a major role in his recruitment. And we all know Oregon’s NIL deal with ex-Nike top boss Phil Knight. Even On3’s Pete Nakos projects him to get the highest price tag of around $1.5 million. And Wiltfong says the same: “His representation is going to be having major conversations over the next two weeks about, obviously, NIL, and then certainly he understands the football components and school components, having visited these programs a couple of times.” So, is Georgia really willing to pay that price? Because stocks are pretty high.
Jackson Cantwell’s Georgia visit sends shockwaves to Kirby Smart and Co.
Look, Kirby Smart needs Jackson Cantwell, as they are already cut from the final list of 5-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho. And Georgia doesn’t have an offensive line commit for their 2026 class. So, if this visit turns out well for Dan Lanning and the team, Coach Smart might have to look for another option.
But it’s not like they are totally out of the scene. Ohio State welcomed Cantwell with open arms during his spring visit, and the highly touted recruit enjoyed the experience. As he said, “Had a great time at Ohio State over the last two days!” tweeting on March 22. To top it all off, there’s a photo of Ryan Day himself joining the crew in the famous “O-H-I-O” pose.
Even Steve Wiltfong states the same: “Georgia is that program that led much of the process. I think in the old age of recruiting, he would have been a Bulldog. Georgia’s still battling there—we’ll see what happens. But definitely momentum around Miami and then certainly Oregon coming into this official visit to Oregon before he announces.” But then there’s still doubt present.
It’s tough to miss out on a player like Jackson Cantwell; there’s no denying his talent. Last fall, he was dominant, leading Nixa to an undefeated Central Ozark Conference season, racking up 91 pancake blocks, and not allowing a single sack. Zero. However, now everything hinges on Cantwell’s Oregon visit.
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