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Mario Cristobal was pumped after Miami landed No. 1 recruit

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated May 13, 2025 6:28 PM ET

The Miami Hurricanes landed the top recruit from the 2026 class on Tuesday, and coach Mario Cristobal was pumped.

Jackson Cantwell, an offensive lineman from Nixa High School in Nixa, Mo., announced his commitment to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Miami beat out a number of schools to land Cantwell, including Georgia, who had been seen by many as the favorite up until the last few days.

This is a real coup for Cristobal and the Hurricanes, and he did not hide his excitement. He is in attendance at the ACC’s spring meetings in Florida, and was seen — and heard — excitedly reacting in the halls of The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, apparently while on a voice call with Cantwell.

Nobody works harder at recruiting than Mario Cristobal and you could hear and feel his joy when No 1 prospect Jackson Cantwell committed to Miami pic.twitter.com/gkOSRZbsZ3
— CaneSport Miami Hurricanes (@CaneSport) May 13, 2025

Cantwell is a five-star prospect and the consensus No. 1 offensive tackle in the Class of 2026. Some rankings, including that of On3, consider Cantwell to be the top overall recruit in the class. He was the 2024 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year, and is viewed as a player who will be able to start early during his college career.

The Hurricanes have won some high-profile recruiting battles before, but the program has yet to truly arrive on the national stage under Cristobal. They came close in 2024, but a late-season loss caused them to miss the College Football Playoff en route to a 10-3 finish. They appear poised to take the next step in 2025, as they have spent heavily in NIL to bring in a big-name quarterback.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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