What Jackson Cantwell, the nation's No. 1 football prospect, said about his top 6 schools

What Jackson Cantwell, the nation’s No. 1 football prospect, said about his top 6 schools

Posted by author February 24, 2025 Football

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Nixa football sensation Jackson Cantwell, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2026 class, recently narrowed his list of schools from 14 to six as he approaches a decision he wants to make before his senior year kicks off in the fall.

Cantwell, a 6-foot-8 offensive lineman, listed his teams in alphabetical order: Georgia, Miami (Florida), Michigan, Missouri, Ohio State, and Oregon. Among the schools he cut included LSU, Nebraska, Alabama, Texas A&M, and USC. He laughed, saying cutting schools was similar to breaking up with a girlfriend.

Cantwell is trying to schedule an official visit with each program before picking his school. He said the process will likely culminate in an announcement ceremony in front of the Nixa High student body in August.

“It’ll be as extra as it can possibly get,” Cantwell said, saying he’ll have conversations with Eagles coach John Perry and athletic director Brandon Clark ahead of time. “It hasn’t been planned out yet, but we’re going make it pretty cool.”

Here’s what Cantwell said about his final six schools:

Why did Jackson Cantwell narrow it down to these six schools?

Cantwell: “Whenever I figured out what schools I wanted to potentially make an official visit, I sat down and was like, ‘what distinguishes these?’ And if I couldn’t think of anything, I was like, ‘well, I’m probably not going to go there.’ I had to just think about all of the schools that I could see myself going. If not, there was no reason to make an official visit.”

Georgia football and Kirby Smart

Cantwell: “Georgia develops every position at a high level, and they’ve had many first-round (NFL Draft) tackles over the last couple of years. They develop guys. You don’t want to think going in, ‘Oh, I’m going to the NFL,’ but like everybody that starts at Georgia ends up in the NFL at some point. I just like the Athens area. My mom lived down there for a couple of years when she was training. I like a lot of stuff down there.”

Miami football and Mario Cristobal

Cantwell: “I was on the phone with my mom, and I wondered what the weather was in Coral Gables (when it was snowing and single-digits in Nixa), and it was 78 degrees there. That’s obviously not the only reason I’m looking at Miami. They have the best offensive line coaching duo in the country in (offensive line coach) Alex Murabal and (head coach) Mario Cristobal. Then you add in the student life there, and it’s not going to get a lot better than Miami, Florida. They have a great situation. You watch Cam Ward last year and realize that he couldn’t have done anything he did without those guys.”

Michigan football and Sherrone Moore

Cantwell: “I feel like they’re the program I end up talking about the least, but I kind of like them a lot. I think the reason I like them so much is that they’re always producing offensive linemen. They do a good job with that. They had something like six offensive linemen go in the draft last year. They have an offensive line guy as head coach. I think Grant Newsome, the offensive line coach, does a fantastic job. I like a lot of the stuff around Ann Arbor. They have pretty good academics. I think there’s a lot to like about it.”

Missouri football and Eli Drinkwitz

Cantwell: “When I made my top six, Missouri was probably the safest pick for anyone to guess would be in it. Being the state’s university, I know guys like me are a big priority there. I think Eli Drinkwitz has turned that program around pretty good, and offensive line coach Brandon Jones has those guys much improved. There are Missouri-developed guys going to the NFL every year off the offensive line, which wasn’t the case for a while ago. I’ve been on campus six times as a recruit and probably like eight years beforehand just as a kid. I’ve known a lot about that area and I’m quite familiar with it. It would be a safe pick, for sure.”

Why shouldn’t everyone assume Cantwell will end up at Mizzou?

Cantwell: “Obviously, there’s a lot of talk about Missouri when it’s one of the best programs in the country right now. They’re the only close program that I’ve gravitated toward, but there’s a lot of promise to go out of the state when I’d have to do that regardless for my football career. You gotta be comfortable being uncomfortable, and sometimes the best situation is to be far away. You never know. Some of those areas are pretty cool that I’ve gotten to visit, and the prospect of living out of the state is really not too bad.”

Ohio State football and Ryan Day

Cantwell: “Ohio State’s an interesting one for me because they’re the best team in the country right now. They have Ryan Day, who has done a fantastic job and is probably the most overrated coach in college football when he’s one of the best coaches in college football. I still sometimes don’t even think Ohio State likes him, and I couldn’t tell you why. I think they have a great offense year in and year out. Their offensive line did incredible last year, but I think the interesting thing is that they’ll have a different offensive line coach because he left to go to the Cardinals, and now they have a guy who hasn’t coached O-line since 2016. It’ll be interesting to see how that works out.”

Oregon football and Dan Lanning

Cantwell: “There’s a good argument that Dan Lanning is my favorite coach I’ve met so far. He’s a fantastic dude and a great ball coach. I like him a lot. I think (offensive line coach) A’lique Terry does a great job relating to the kids and does a great job of teaching. It’s very far away, but I think the reason why they have a lot of pull nationwide is just because they’ve won a lot of games. You know about the Oregon brand because of how big they are nationally. They’re on television all the time, you can watch all their stuff, and they win a lot. It’s a lot of fun to watch them.”