SEC schools appeal to 2026 No. 1 OT Jackson Cantwell

A handful of 2026 prospects have already committed, but for the most part, it is still very early for prospects in that class. Jackson Cantwell falls into that second group.

Kansas State was first to offer the 6-foot-7.5, 300-pound offensive tackle out of Nixa (Mo.) while in Manhattan for a game last fall. Missouri, the home-state school, followed with an offer not too long after that.

Interest picked up late last year, but Cantwell’s recruitment really took off during the evaluation period in the spring and into the early summer. His first visit of the summer was to Oklahoma and that is when the Sooners offered. His first time in Norman was for the Baylor game last fall and he will be back this weekend for the season opener against Arkansas State.

“I didn’t really know much about Oklahoma before my visit last year, but it is a cool place, the fans are passionate and I like the coaches,” Cantwell told On3. “I have spent the most time with Coach B (Bill Bedenbaugh) and he is very good with his player development. Oklahoma is definitely one of the best places to go to get developed as an offensive lineman. There is a reason Coach B puts so many linemen into the NFL. He knows what he is doing.”

Cantwell also likes Brent Venables. He met the head coach in June and looks forward to his time with him this weekend. The location is something else Cantwell pointed out that makes Oklahoma appealing to him. Norman is less than five hours from home.

Week one will have the No. 5 prospect in the 2026 On3 Industry Rankings at Oklahoma. The school will move to the SEC season and there are numerous SEC programs on Cantwell’s radar.

He visited Arkansas and Texas A&M in the spring. Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee had him on campus in July. Missouri has had Cantwell on campus multiple times. The SEC appeals to one of the best in 2026.

“The SEC brand correlates with what I am looking for. They have a lot of what I am targeting in a school The SEC is full of successful football programs. Winning is something I am looking for and the SEC does that very well. A lot of coaches are top tier too and just the SEC as a whole has a lot of what I like.”

Cantwell plans to take his time with his recruitment. He will take in as many games as he can this fall, get a closer look at the different programs and use this to help him shape his list of favorites in the future.

Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee are likely stops for Cantwell this fall

From late June to late July, recruits couldn’t take visits because of the dead period. The last week of July opened things back up and Cantwell took advantage of that. He visited Alabama on July 25-26, Georgia on July 27-28 and finished his road trip at Tennessee on July 29.

Each program impressed and Cantwell is looking to get back for games at each SEC school this fall.

On Alabama: “Alabama was great. They have a lot of good stuff going on. Coach Eric Wolford knows his stuff with offensive linemen. The offensive line room does things the right way. Then you have Nick Saban. Everyone knows what he has done. Alabama didn’t disappoint. I looked around at everything, I saw some of the players and I saw a little bit of myself in some of those guys. They really work hard there.”

On Georgia: “I can’t say anything bad about Georgia. What everyone is trying to build, Georgia already has. Coach Kirby Smart is a leader and he has done a lot at Georgia. Like Alabama, Georgia produces in the trenches and they have a lot of good things happening. Coach Stacy Searels is a great guy, the offensive linemen have bought into the culture and they get the job done.”

On Tennessee: “I liked a lot of what I saw at Tennessee too. It starts with Coach Kevin Pendleton. He was at Missouri before and that is when we met back when I camped there. I have known him for a while and we have a solid relationship. I like Coach Glen Elarbee too. He is incredibly wise and he really knows the game. Coach Joey Halzle does some good stuff with the offense as well. My head coach models a lot of what Tennessee’s offense does offensively, so that was cool to see.”

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