Jackson Cantwell shocked the recruiting world Tuesday afternoon when he chose the final group including Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State. Competitors 250's five-star and first prospects sit down with competitor countries' recruitment analysts Greg Smith Five key moments of his recruitment were detailed, which led to his Miami commitment.
More Cantwell: Miami stands out | Gorney: Kirby, UGA did the right thing, but not enough | Cantwell has the most decisions. How long does the first prospect reverse from their original commitment? | Cantwell will be the catalyst for Miami's next top class | canescounty.com coverage
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This is where you have to start. For many, Miami is everywhere in this recruitment. But as Cantwell describes, the hurricane has been around for a long time.
"Obviously, you have to start with the offer, right?" Cantwell said. "That's the biggest thing in February 2023. If you look back, it's the earliest of my four finalists.
"This is more after June 15, but it's important when they step into the door. From the beginning, it's a big offer because most of the initials were regional interest. Miami was one of my first national offers, so it was a big big offer, so I'm in that stage, and plans like that should recruit me."
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The second critical moment for Cantwell to pick Miami is June 15, 2024. This is where Miami really raises the calories to show that Missourians are a real priority for hurricanes.
"Some programs came out of woodwork, some programs didn't seem to want to recruit me at that time because they felt like they were feeling for some reason," Cantwell said. “Miami is one of the plans to really jump in and start building a relationship right away. Or at least try to build a better person.
“I heard from the coach (Alex) Miracle Few are informal recruits who come to school. I didn't talk to the coach (Mario) Cristobal At that time. That was when I started to build a relationship with Coach Cristobal. I think it helps a lot because we hear a lot from them and they put a lot of effort into us. ”
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You never know what happens to visit. Cantwell visited Miami on November 2 and hardly happened last fall. But since doing so, it has laid the foundation for the rest of the hiring and has indeed made Miami a true contender. Only Jackson's mom went to this visit with him, and she told his dad, "Man, I think you need to see Miami. It's special.
"I think the game day visit is another really important visit," Jackson said. "The game definitely helped me because I saw it all for the first time. It was really a coincidence to get there. I was very happy to be on the visit because I had a weekend open and I had a list of schools that I wanted to see for the first time.
"Miami is on the list. Texas A&M is on the list. Ole Miss is on the list. I ended up choosing Miami that weekend and I'm glad I did because I like everything I saw. They showed me everything, they showed me a good plan. They seemed to really like it, and they really leaned towards a lot of interests, and they really were interested, and it took a lot of time to both appreciate a lot of it.
“They just show that I’m their priority. They just say, ‘You’re someone who can completely change our momentum in 2026, and a person can definitely play for us and it’s good for us.” They think my caliber people can develop well there, which has bothered me. ”
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One thing that families love to see on Miami campus is the small size of the average class size. Miami’s student body is smaller than you’d expect, so it feels like a more intimate class. The campus also feels like a small world in the main cities of Miami.
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Cantwell visited Miami, Michigan and Ohio State. The Hurricane drove their visit out of the park, and the vision did come together and he could see himself in Miami.
“I think it was the spring practice that I took it home,” Cantwell said. “That was the place I realized that it wasn’t just a cool place, but it was a place where I could really play football and succeed because I was there for three days. I watched the spring practice and two drills. I spent a lot of time on campus and it felt like a (official visit) because it loved the effort, because it gave an incredible visit like the ov, and it was really an incredible visit.
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“This is one of the best visits I’ve ever been to.
"It's hard to replace the real connection I felt during this visit. I just think these guys showed so much effort when they were planning for me. What can we do from beginning to end. We talked about the prom, we talked about the content of life Miami offers. From beginning to end, it seemed like a good situation."
One thing that is also very clear during this visit is the offensive line coach Alex Mirabalthe teaching style and how it blends with Jackson. The way he runs the room really stands out for the five-star and mom on that visit.
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So, when will the decision be made and the difficulties be made? The final call was less than 48 hours before the announcement of the ceremony.
"So, after my informal visit last week, I was flying home in an uncomfortable seat," Cantwell said. "There is no space at all, I don't have Wi-Fi on the plane, and my thoughts are, 'Okay, I'm going to sit here. I'm going to think about it for an hour and a half, I'm going to figure out where I'm going. It's Georgia or Miami."
"At the end of the flight, I knew I was going to Miami. I told my parents to ride on the way home and they seemed to agree with me. I was glad they were on the boat because I often thought about this decision and I thought that was the best for me."
Finally, Miami “has been doing the right thing,” according to Cant Wells. The elephant in the room is a discussion surrounding NIL and its role in that decision. There is no discount on the country's number one player. Each plan in the final group aggregates competitive offers.
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But Miami has to work hard. The combination of coaching staff, campus and development programs also played a key role, why Cantwell is now going all out.
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