From the moment 5-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell spurned Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon to commit to the Miami football team, people have been bashing the Canes left and right. Cantwell is reportedly set to make around $2 million with Miami in 2026 once he makes his way to campus.
That's a pretty penny, but keep in mind that Cantwell is ranked not only the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country, but also one of the top playmakers overall for his class too. Still, it's a head-turning amount of money, no doubt.
Mario Cristobal and his coaches have surely seen all of the hate that's come their way. In a new interview with 247Sports' Josh Pate, Cristobal responded to people bashing him over Miami allegedly only landing top prospects, of course including Cantwell, because of the money being put on the table:
Mario Cristobal could care less over haters bashing Miami over NIL
As you can see from that video, Cristobal could care less about the outside noise that's coming in. A lot of people remain pretty upset that Cantwell is going to be Coral Gables-bound next winter (he's enrolling early), but this is something Miami supporters are quite excited about.
For a little while, it sure looked like Cantwell was going to commit to Georgia, especially with him taking a last-minute trip to Athens right before his May 13 commitment date. However, following that visit, Cantwell said he knew in his heart that Miami was the place for him.
A lot of people in Georgia are claiming that money had everything to do with Cantwell choosing the Canes over the Dawgs, but the standout tackle made it clear that the relationships he has built with Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal helped send Miami over the top.
At the end of the day, it was a close race, but Cantwell will be playing in the ACC at the next level and not the SEC. Is Cantwell getting a massive NIL deal to play for Miami? Sure, but that's just the landscape of the game these days. Cristobal and his staff got the job done and the top lineman on their board gave them his verbal. People can be upset about that, but it's business as usual for Cristobal and the Hurricanes.