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Five-star offensive tackle recruit Jackson Cantwell stunned quite a few recruiting experts when he committed to the Miami Hurricanes over the Georgia Bulldogs, Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes. Cantwell, who is the top ranked recruit in the class of 2026, announced his decision on Tuesday afternoon.
The 6-foot-8, 300-pound offensive lineman from Nixa High School in Nixa, Missouri, explained what went into his decision to pick Miami.
“I chose Miami because I felt like it was the best situation for me to grow and develop, not only on the field as an offensive lineman, but as a person,” said Cantwell. “Coach Cristobal and Maribal have recruiter me harder than anyone in the country, and I believe in their development plan for me in the short and long term.”
Georgia fans and coaches are disappointed in Cantwell’s decision. We disagree with Mario Cristobal being a better developer of offensive line talent than Kirby Smart.
From the 2023 to 2025 NFL draft at Miami, Cristobal has had just two offensive linemen drafted (none in the first four rounds). During that same time period, Georgia and Kirby Smart has had seven offensive linemen drafted including two first-round picks.
If you go back further from the 2019 to 2022 NFL draft, at Oregon, Cristobal had three offensive linemen drafted including first-round pick Penei Sewell. Smart had eight offensive linemen selected over the same time span including two first-round picks.
The numbers simply don’t add up for Cristobal being a better developer of offensive lineman than Smart. Yes, Smart has had the benefit of continuity and better recruiting, but he’s produced far more NFL draft picks along the offensive line than Cristobal.
| (data from 2019-2025 NFL draft) | Mario Cristobal | Kirby Smart |
| Total OL NFL draft picks | 5 | 15 |
| OL first-round picks | 1 | 4 |
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