Five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell's interest in Miami is well-documented. The nation's No. 1 recruit in the 2026 class made an unofficial visit to the Hurricanes during their fourth spring practice in March, and Mario Cristobal’s staff is working hard to maintain that momentum in his recruitment.
Despite already having three offensive linemen committed for 2026, Miami is still aggressively pursuing Cantwell. Cristobal emphasized that the program isn't finished adding talent to the offensive front, especially with the potential of losing four or five linemen to the NFL next year after a dominant season in the trenches.
"Historically, we've had a lot of good track record for playing high school offensive line," Cristobal said. "We've gone heavy on making sure we develop our young guys. And this is a year where we need a lot of offensive line. We need to sign, we may lose five, six, seven guys. We need to sign five, six, seven guys, okay?"
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After his visit in March, Cantwell highlighted Cristobal’s experience with offensive lines as Miami’s strongest selling point. Cristobal echoed the urgency for elite recruits, noting that they are targeting top-tier talent.
"I would say conservative. And we need guys that can come in and play," Cristobal said. "We legitimately need guys like we've coached in the past. Other guys are coming along really well, but we need some really, really high level, highly motivated. I work at the guys coming in place."
Miami has four-star offensive tackle Ben Congdon locked in the 2026 class, alongside interior offensive linemen Joel Ervin and JJ Sparks. Landing Jackson Cantwell would give the Hurricanes their highest-rated recruit in the group.
Recruiting analyst speaks on Jackson Cantwell's fit in Miami
Jackson Cantwell recorded 153 pancake blocks as a junior in the 2024 season. At 6-foot-7.5 and weighing 305 pounds, he's not only a physical powerhouse but also one of the nation's top throwers.
According to 247Sports’ Gaby Urrutia, a high-level talent like Cantwell is exactly what Miami needs.
"It's time for Miami to kind of dip back into that well, go get another elite tackle type of prospect who can be a day one contributor that you don't have to worry about again. There's going to be a big opening, maybe two big openings at tackle for Miami heading into that 2026 season. And I think Jackson Cantwell is a candidate to potentially be one of those guys."
Cantwell is set for an official visit to Miami on May 9. His recruitment is expected to remain highly competitive all the way through his decision and possibly even until he signs. For now, Miami must roll out the red carpet for his upcoming visit. Other schools in the race for Cantwell are Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and Missouri.
