Jackson Cantwell, the five-star offensive tackle committed to Miami, was named the No. 1 overall prospect in Rivals' updated 2026 rankings released on Monday. Rivals now lists 16 five-stars and will expand to 32 by January to mirror the NFL's first round.
🚨NEW🚨 Miami OT commit Jackson Cantwell ranks No. 1 and 5-stars in the updated 2026 Rivals300🙌https://t.co/IlMaGHhtYO pic.twitter.com/9dtuBPlWv0
— Rivals (@Rivals) September 15, 2025
Cantwell, a 6-foot-8, 315-pound lineman from Nixa, Missouri, committed to Miami on May 13 over Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State. ESPN also ranks him the No. 1 offensive tackle (although they have him as the No. 3 overall prospect nationally at the time of his commitment). After his commitment to the Hurricanes there was some fluctuation in Cantwell's ranking, but it seems to have settled back to where it should be.
"Measured at over 6-foot-7, 205 pounds prior to his sophomore season. Has solid length with 33.5-inch arms and big hands. Owns a phenomenal athletic profile as one of the top shot put throwers in the country for his age group. Posted a personal best throw of over 64 feet as a freshman. Also posted strong testing numbers in the college camp setting. Transfers those gifts over to the football field where he shows strong coordination and function strength."Rivals' Charles Power
Jackson Cantwell's track and field career
Cantwell won the boys shot put at Nike Outdoor Nationals with a best of 21.84 meters (71 feet, 8 inches) with the 6-kilogram implement in June, and he owns a sophomore national record throw of 74 feet, 9.75 inches with the high school shot put.
Jackson Cantwell's football resume
Cantwell anchored a Nixa offense that averaged 44.8 points per game during a 13-0 start in 2024, and they recognized him as Missouri’s Track & Field Player of the Year in 2024 and Football Player of the Year in 2025. In the offseason you could regularly find Cantwell putting up crazy numbers in the weight room.
225 x 32 reps this morning. Would have been T-2nd at the NFL combine this year.
— Jackson Cantwell (@jcantwell2499) July 29, 2025
Still need 40 more reps to catch my dad’s PR😂 #NSGB #GoCanes pic.twitter.com/gNkywwNucJ
Jackson Cantwell's NIL value
ESPN reported Miami offered one of the Cantwell one of the most competitive NIL packages — more than $2 million annually — while also emphasizing development under Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal. Obviously this was a contentious piece of debate among college football fans, but Miami is a great option for development and Cantwell is choosing what he feels is best for him.