Five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell isn’t the one to come and let your offense run at the same pace as before. He’s meant to elevate the ball game like no other. Cantwell skipped his senior year at Nixa High School in Missouri, but college football programs can’t wait to get him on board. It’s Cantwell who’s taking a bit of time to make up his mind. But it seems he’s closer than ever, and it seems to save the day for coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks.

Cantwell was wisely scouting through his top six schools, including Oregon, Missouri, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and Miami. But his recent tweet suggested a tweak. The touted OT wrote, “Journey is almost over, where is home? “Just within two days, he came up with a big Oregon bombshell. He will be there in Eugene for an official visit by the end of this month. “Oregon will be April 19-21 for an OV,” Cantwell said to On3. “Or potentially April 25-27. Either one.”

He had already been to Miami, Ohio State, and Michigan this summer. The trip to Eugene is likely to be his last before the final call. But interestingly, it seems the visit might not be able to make any drastic change in his mind, as the OT said, he already had all the necessary ingredients about the schools he considers. The top 2026 recruit also stressed that his family would play a big factor in his decision. In the past, Jackson visited the Ducks once, but without his family, especially his mom, by his side.

This time may be, just maybe, he can take his mom to the school to be more sanguine of their worth. “It’s an opportunity to check out Eugene one more time and to make sure Oregon is what I last remember it as,” Cantwell said. “Also, I haven’t seen a spring practice up there yet and seen a few other minor details, so it would be good to do so”. He has been an avid admirer of Coach Lanning and the way he has set up the locker room culture in Oregon. It will be interesting to see where he finally takes a sail.

However, Cantwell’s recent inclination made his Georgia connection wear thin.

Georgia used to be the frontrunner in Jackson Cantwell’s recruitment 

Georgia has always been in the thick of a high-intensity race for the five-star OT right from the beginning. The No.1 2026 class tackle in the nation took several trips to Athens and had a holistic idea of what they could offer him. Not only him, Kirby Smart and offensive line coach Stacy Searels took a halt at Nixa earlier this year to study their target in a microscopic lens.

And it seems their way of approach, demeanor has left a deep impact on Jackson’s mind. “There is a lot. They do a lot of things right. They pay a lot of attention to detail. I like Coach Searels a lot. Coach Searels is definitely one of my favorite O-line coaches I’ve seen so far,” Cantwell said. The one specific thing Cantwell is a fan of is Searels’ knack and a visible history of developing talents that are making waves in the NFL. No need to address that the Dawgs’ offensive line is blazing. They have spent dollars on swooping in the best of the best in markets. But if you can’t properly channelize their talent and make the most out of it, it’s a waste.

Cantwell continued pointing out that rare quality of the SEC powerhouse, “When you’re at Georgia, you can recruit incredibly well, so obviously that will help Coach Searels out a lot, but he also does a pretty good job developing those guys and getting them ready to go play at the next level. That is something I’ve always been excited about with them. And then it’s just UGA.” Nonetheless, after his recent college football announcement, Smart should better be ready for a worst-case scenario.