A few days ago, Georgia football missed on one of their top recruiting targets of the 2026 class. Five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell announced on Tuesday that he was committing to Miami (FL), which was a shock because Georgia was thought to be the favorite just hours before his announcement.
But a late increase in his NIL offer is what most people think led Cantwell to choose Miami, and this fact upset a lot of Georgia fans. But one person who isn't upset by this is Kirby Smart, who made the following comment on Wednesday.
“I just want to be able to have a freshman come in and not make more than a senior and I’d like for other sports to be able to still survive,” Smart shared via Paul Finebaum. “You know, we’re on the brink of probably one to two years away from a lot of schools cutting sports.”
Was this comment about Jackson Cantwell?
To Smart's defense, he does not specifically state Cantwell's name in this quote, so it's impossible to say with 100 percent certainty that it is about Cantwell. But the fact that this was said one day after he chose Miami over Georgia makes it seem likely this it is about him.
But the fact that Smart specifically said he doesn't want a freshman to come in and make more than a senior is why this is likely about Cantwell. Reports came out after Cantwell's commitment that he was asking for four times the amount that some veteran players at Georgia are already making. So while that isn't word for word what Smart said, it's pretty close.
Regardless of if this is about Cantwell or not, the sentiment rings true. Georgia does not want a freshman of any caliber to come in and make more than their veteran upperclassmen, and that is something a lot of UGA fans are in agreement with.