Top 3 landing spots for 2026 class prospect Jackson Cantwell ft. Missouri

By Viraj Mali

Modified Jul 07, 2024 20:11 GMT

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Jackson Cantwell, a five-star recruit from the class of 2026, is one of the best offensive tackles in the nation. The 6-foot-7.5 offensive tackle comes from a sports-crazy family as his parents have represented the country at the Olympics.

Cantwell's father, Christian Cantwell, won the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His mother, Teri Cantwell, represented the nation at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Nixa High School's coach, John Perry, spoke about Jackson's sports heritage and what it has done for the elite athlete.

"It's pretty amazing," Perry told Springfield News-Leader. "He has not only been blessed genetically from his height. But he's also been blessed with parents who have put a work ethic in him to where he likes to work out and get stronger. He likes to be better than he was the day before and everybody doesn't have that."

Cantwell is ranked No. 4 nationally and is the 2nd-best offensive tackle from the class, according to On3 Industry Rankings. He is also the best prospect from the state of Missouri, and multiple top schools have expressed their interest in acquiring the tackle.

Let's take a look at the top 3 schools in contention to sign the five-star recruit from Missouri.

Top 3 landing spots for Jackson Cantwell

#3. Oregon

Jackson Cantwell has received interest from a lot of top schools in the nation. However, Oregon can be a great destination for the OT from Missouri.

Cantwell visited the Ducks' campus last month and was impressed by Dan Lanning and his coaching staff. He spoke about the visit and Lanning's approach towards him.

"I enjoyed Oregon a bunch," Cantwell said (h/t Yahoo Sports). "To quote my dad, 'Dan Lanning could probably sell ice to an Eskimo.' It was cool to talk to that guy. He worked his way up and clearly knows what he's doing. He's a heck of a guy. I like their overall pitch a lot. They have a lot to offer."

Oregon has had a great recruiting season so far and adding Cantwell to their roster will be a massive achievement for Lanning and company.

#2. Nebraska

Jackson Cantwell visited Nebraska for the second time in January. His first trip was during the program's 45-7 loss to Michigan. Despite the heavy loss, Cantwell seemed to take the positives from the meeting.

"I had a pretty good trip," Cantwell told Sports Illustrated ahead of his second trip to Lincoln. "The game didn’t go the way they wanted, but I still think that there were a lot of good takeaways- their program is developing into something good, they have a very good offensive line system and I have a good relationship with the coaches there."

Cantwell is one of the country's best prospects, and the Lincoln-based team is predicted to have a 12.5% chance of landing the coveted athlete, according to On3.

#1. Missouri

Missouri has emerged as the favorite to land Jackson Cantwell, according to On3. His home state university is predicted to have a 27.4% chance of landing the star tackle.

Missouri hosted Cantwell in March and is very high on the tackle's list of preferred schools. The proximity to his hometown, Nixa, is a major reason why Cantwell has Missouri so high on his list. The Nixa native spoke about the school in an interview.

"You've seen what it's like with other priority guys from other classes. You've seen Luther Burden, you've seen Cayden [Green] and Williams [Nwaneri] and how well respected they are. You see that and I feel like it means something more to stay in-state," Cantwell said, as per Sports Illustrated.

Cantwell has received a lot of offers from other top schools, such as Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State, USC and Michigan. However, Missouri stands at the front of the pack at the moment.