Miami's recruiting class has a lot of gems, but five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell is a diamond. With the value of diamonds skyrocketing, it's no surprise that Cantwell's value is among the highest of the incoming players from the 2026 recruiting class.
Pete Nakos of On3/Rivals reports that Cantwell, who was a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year, is part of a group of five-star recruits that will be making over $1.5 million in his freshman year. The Hurricanes have been among the biggest spenders in college football and Cantwell's reported NIL deal would confirm that.
NEW: Miami OT Jackson Cantwell, Vanderbilt QB Jared Curtis and USC TE Mark Bowman are regarded as the highest-paid signees in the 2026 class, sources tell @PeteNakos🤑
— On3 (@On3) February 4, 2026
The five-star recruits are set to make north of $1.5M in Year 1. https://t.co/gFMLoU7IXi https://t.co/vMz6LgENul pic.twitter.com/vyUFxbwHsQ
Jackson Cantwell is among the highest-paid recruits in the 2026 class
Cantwell isn't just some five-star prospect. He plays offensive tackle and is expected to start or at least be a major contributor as a true freshman. As a physical prospect, his size completely jumps off the page — the minute you see him walking off the bus, you know that's a guy that could be an All-American. And with the way that Mario Cristobal, a former offensive lineman himself, values line play and trench warriors, it's completely understandable that the Hurricanes were going to invest heavily in a blue-chip player like Cantwell.
As always with this sort of price tag comes a lot of attention and pressure. That pressure is amplified because Miami is expected to compete for a CFP championship in the 2026 season. However, Cantwell seems to understand the assignment and the freshman was with Miami during most of their run to the CFP championship game. He's already getting a taste of the competition he'll face and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal said the experience of competing and learning to deal with some adversity will be valuable to his growth as a player.
"He probably never got beat in high school. Now, you're getting beat. Now, you're taking a pass set and Herbert Scroggins, you put your hand out, and he's going to slap it down and go by you. You're like, 'Oh my.' Now, you're dealing with that, having to deal with," Mirabal told 247Sports. 'Hey, go to the next one, go to the next one, go to the next one.' One bad play doesn't make one bad day, but it's been awesome."