Georgia named finalist for No. 1 player in the country, decision coming soon

Georgia football could be a couple weeks away from making the biggest splash on the recruiting trail for the 2026 class to date. Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs currently don't even have a top 20 class, so things needs to change in a hurry before they lose too much momentum.

But Georgia always has a chance to go on a run on the recruiting trail, and that run could begin at the end of this month when the No. 1 player in the country makes their final decision.

5-star OT Jackson Cantwell

Jackson Cantwell is a five-star offensive tackle from Nixa, MO. According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Cantwell is the No. 1 overall player in the 2026 class no matter how you look at it. He is the top ranked player from Missouri, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 1 overall player in the 2026 class as well. So it goes without saying how important this recruitment is for Georgia.

Georgia has been aggressively pursuing Cantwell for quite some time now, and his recruitment is coming to an end at the end of this month. According to On3's Hayes Fawcett, Cantwell will announce his commitment on April 30 and will be deciding between Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Miami (FL).

It is hard to get a good read on who the favorite might be, but Miami is the school with the only crystal ball prediction in their favor on 247Sports. On3 on the other hand has not named a new leader yet as they previously had Missouri as the team to beat, which obviously is not the case.

Oregon may be the trendy pick to win this recruitment because they always seem to have a war chest of NIL ready to throw at any recruit that even looks their direction. The Ducks will also host Cantwell on an official visit beginning April 26 which is just a couple days before his commitment, so that is a great sign for the Ducks as well.

But as it stands today, there is not a clear leader in his recruitment right now which is a good thing for Georgia.