Miami freshman Jackson Cantwell's preseason hype just reached new heights

Bruce Feldman released his annual college football Freaks List on Monday at The Athletic, and Miami left tackle Jackson Cantwell came in fourth among the 101 players on it.

Feldman has compiled the list since 2005, ranking players on measured athletic output rather than production. South Carolina receiver Nyck Harbor took the top spot for the third time.

Jackson Cantwell lands at No. 4 on the 2026 Freaks List

Miami's staff has measured Cantwell's peak power output at 9,461 watts. Francis Mauigoa, who finished 16th on last year's list and went 10th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, put up 9,273 watts as a junior. That was the highest figure on Miami's roster in 2025, by nearly 1,000 watts over the next player.

Cantwell has already hit 17.3 mph. For reference, Mauigoa reached 17.6 in his final Miami season after three years of college strength work.

Christian Cantwell, his father, is a four-time world champion in the shot put and took silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His mother, Teri Steer Cantwell, won two NCAA shot put titles at SMU and threw at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

Jackson threw well enough to set the national high school sophomore record in the shot put in 2024, at nearly 75 feet. He won Missouri state titles in the shot and the discus and was named the state's Gatorade Boys Track and Field Player of the Year.

Cantwell signed with Miami as one of the top recruits in the 2026 class. He picked the Hurricanes over Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon in May 2025.

He was also the first offensive lineman named Gatorade National Football Player of the Year. He is listed at 6-8 and 330 pounds and is expected to start at left tackle.

The Hurricanes are rebuilding most of an offensive line that reached the national championship game and doing it while breaking in Darian Mensah at quarterback.

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