As everyone knows, Georgia football lost the battle for five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell earlier this week when he chose Miami over UGA. This left Georgia fans very confused because everyone thought UGA was the favorite to win heading into his commitment date.
But that obviously is not what happened as Miami ended up being the team celebrating at the end of the day.
So why did Cantwell choose Miami? Everyone has been speculating as to what led him to this decision, but Greg Smith with Rivals sat down with Cantwell after his commitment and Cantwell shared five reasons why he committed to Miami.
1. Jackson Cantwell’s first offer
The first thing Cantwell shared that really stood out to him in his recruitment is the fact that Miami was his first offer. No, the Hurricanes weren't the very first school to offer him, but he shared that of his four finalists, Miami was the first one to officially offer him in February of 2023.
It isn't abnormal to see a school who makes an earlier offer have an edge with a recruit, and that appears to be what happened in Cantwell's recruitment.
2. First meeting with Mario Cristobal
While Cantwell was offered by Miami in February of 2023, he didn't meet Miami head coach Mario Cristobal until June of 2024. This is quite a long time after being offered by Miami and pretty far along in his recruiting process, so one could argue this could actually be a negative for Miami.
But Cantwell said meeting Cristobal for the first time was eye opening and one of the reasons why he began to love Miami.
3. Game day visit vs. Duke
Cantwell traveled to Miami many times throughout his recruitment, but it was hist visit this past season when Miami played Duke that really stuck out to him.
“I think the game day visit was another really important one,” Jackson said. “The game definitely helped me because I got to see it all for the first time… I ended up choosing Miami for that weekend, and I'm very glad I did because I liked everything I saw. They showed me everything down there and they laid out a good plan for me. It seemed like they really poured a lot into it and they had a lot of interest, and that was something that really stuck with me going into that winter cycle.”
In all honesty, it is a little strange for a game day visit to Miami to really stand out because the Hurricanes are known for having a pretty pathetic home crowd. But Cantwell for some reason loved this visit so much that it continued to push Miami towards the top of his list.
4. Three day spring break visit
Cantwell's recruitment was coming down to the wire this spring, and a three day visit to Miami during spring break is what reportedly was the final selling point for Cantwell. He left this visit very high on Miami and feeling like this is where he wanted to play college football.
Obviously he took a little more time after this visit to sort things out, but it was this three day visit that really hammered home his love for Miami.
5. Jackson Cantwell’s final decision
The last thing Cantwell shared is when he made his final decision that he was going to commit to Miami. Georgia hosted Cantwell for his final visit last weekend, which was just a few days before his scheduled commitment. This visit reportedly went very well for UGA, but Cantwell explained how he decided he was going to commit to Miami during the flight home.
“At the end of the flight I knew I was going to Miami," Cantwell shared. "I told my parents in the car ride on the way home, and they seemed to agree with me. I'm glad they're on board with it because I thought through the decision a lot and I think that was what was best for me.”
This quote contradicts a few reports made by recruiting experts who began logging crystal ball predictions in Georgia's favor immediately after this visit. Reports also claimed that Cantwell wasn't leaning towards Miami until a last second call from the Hurricanes where they increased their NIL offer for him.
But according to this statement from Cantwell, these reports were dead wrong, which just goes to show that no one ever truly knows what is going down in a recruitment.