5-star Miami commit Jackson Cantwell has been mind-boggling in high school

Five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell keeps producing at a ridiculous level under the Friday night lights. The Nixa (Mo.) junior is the consensus No. 1 lineman in the 2026 class — and, depending on the service, the No. 1 overall prospect — while doubling as the most decorated high school thrower in America.

Cantwell is a 6-foot-7, 320-pound edge mover with rare balance and strike power for his size. He also earned a spot in the Under Armour Next All-America showcase as an underclassman and was named Gatorade Missouri Football Player of the Year after pacing Nixa to a 13-1 season with 153 pancake blocks. Recently, Rivals reported that he has registered 400 pancake blocks in his high school career.

Track and field is also where the numbers look absurd even by elite standards. Competing with the international U20 6-kg implement, Cantwell won the U.S. title at Hayward Field with a 21.84-meter (71-8) bomb — the top U20 mark globally in 2025 — and swept Nike Outdoor Nationals titles the same weekend. He'd already posted a historic high-school campaign with a 23.45m/76-11.25 throw using the 12-lb shot, a Missouri all-class record that missed the NFHS outdoor record by one centimeter and stands among the farthest throws in U.S. prep history. He also pushed the discus beyond 64 meters (210-4.75) en route to another state crown.

Cantwell won the Gatorade Missouri Boys Track & Field Player of the Year for a second straight season and closed his junior spring with state and national titles across USATF U20s and Nike Outdoor.

He is the son of two U.S. Olympians: Christian Cantwell, the 2009 world champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the shot put, and Teri Steer-Cantwell, a 2000 U.S. Olympian and SMU Hall of Famer.

Cantwell announced his commitment on May 13, 2025, choosing Miami over Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State. Based on everything that has happened up until this point, Miami fans can expect to see him on the field next year.