The day that Georgia football fans were hoping would never come, well, it has. On Tuesday, 5-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell shut down his recruitment, announcing he's Miami-bound. For a while, the Bulldogs were the favorites to land his verbal, but Mario Cristobal came out on top.
This might be one of the biggest recruiting shockers of the past few years, as all signs were pointing in the direction of UGA landing the elite prospect, especially after he took his recent visit to Athens over the weekend.
Instead, the Hurricanes got the job done. So, just what in the world was it that powered the Canes over the Dawgs and others in this one? Cantwell made it clear that the ability for him to learn and get developed by Cristobal and Miami offensive line coach Alex Mirabal was too much for him to pass up on.
5-star OT Jackson Cantwell surprised Georgia fans by committing to Miami
“I mean, I think relationships won out,” Cantwell said. “Coach Mirabal and Cristobal, they both spent so much time recruiting me over the past year. They were checking in with me and texting every day talking about offensive line development at The U. Their history with Penei Sewell, Francis Mauigoa and recent guys - I feel like I can develop and be something great.”
There are a lot of disappointed Georgia fans, players and alumni over this decision. The list includes 5-star quarterback Jared Curtis, who committed to the Bulldogs last week. Curtis was working overtime to help Kirby Smart and his staff land Cantwell, but the massive lineman will be playing his college ball in the ACC and not the SEC.
This is a huge get for Miami, as Cantwell is considered a true playmaker. According to the 247Sports Composite, he's ranked the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 1 overall prospect for the 2026 class too.
His finalists were Miami, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon. Again, it seemed for a little while that Cantwell was going to move to Athens next winter, but he has made the tough call to play elsewhere. We're not going to go after the kid for picking a different program, but a lot of people are left wondering what could have been over the next 4-5 years starting in '26 had he chosen Georgia.