"It's kinda two groups of schools for me": 5-star OT recruit Jackson Cantwell on what he's looking for in college football teams

Jackson Cantwell is one of the biggest deals in the 2026 college football recruiting class. The five-star offensive tackle is a dream recruit for any program, and the number of offers he's received is a testament to that.

With 30 reported offers so far, the big question is where would he commit. And the key to the answer lies in what he considers his ideal program. For the No. 1 junior OT in high school football, a line divides his choice between two categories.

In his recent chat with On3’s Philip Duke, Cantwell outlined how he categorizes schools and mentions schools in each of the categories. He said (4:31-5:10):

"I'm open to playing basically anywhere. But what I figured out is just kind of two groups of schools for me. It's just like national powerhouses and then like local schools that I like a lot, that are kind of, they're trending up as well."

In the category of national powerhouses Cantwell lists Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and Oregon. What stands out for him is they “are top teams year in year out.” Another thing he notes is “a lot of players from those schools are going to go pro every single year.” This, for him, helps his chances of going pro if he ends up in one of these schools.

What are Jackson Cantwell's choices for college?

Jackson Cantwell ranks among the most heavily recruited talents in the 2026 class. The 6-ft-8, 305-pounder is a dream athlete from Nixa High School in Nixa, Missouri. He's a multi-sport athlete and has won a national championship in shot put.

Cantwell has received offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and LSU among others. He is scheduled for a visit to Alabama when they face Missouri, a school he has ties with, this weekend. He has previously been to Georgia and he described his experience.

He said:

“It's always fun going down there. They do a really good job of playing.”

Despite the lure from the schools he described as powerhouses, his ties with Missouri could influence his decision.

“There's only really two schools I have a lot of ties to and my dad went to Missouri so that'd be the other one.”

The other school Jackson Cantwell has ties to is Nebraska where he has family roots.