Nation’s No. 1 Player Calls Out ‘False Narrative’ After Miami Commitment

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By J.C. Shelton | Last updated May 13, 2025 7:16 PM ET

Class of 2026 five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell is headed to Miami after committing to the Hurricanes over Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State on Tuesday.

Cantwell (6-foot-7.5, 300 pounds) ranks as the nation's No. 1 player by both On3 and Rivals. He plays for Nixa (Missouri) High School, where he earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors in December.

The anticipation surrounding Cantwell's decision began to heat up in recent weeks, with the consensus belief, according to industry experts, that the elite tackle would end up at Georgia.

Miami, however, wasn't counted out of the race. Head coach Mario Cristobal's Hurricanes reportedly offered Cantwell the most lucrative NIL package worth around $2 million, according to On3's Pete Nakos last week.

"Sources have said that Miami has the most lucrative first-year deal on the table, sitting around the $2 million mark," Nakos wrote on May 7.

After announcing his pledge to Miami, Cantwell spoke with reporters and called out the "false narrative" that money was a factor in his decision.

"Well, I think my response to it is that it’s not the same narrative that people like Pete Nakos are pushing right now," Cantwell said via Dawgnation. "I think there’s just a false narrative that that’s why I’m choosing (Miami)."

Leading up to his commitment, Cantwell revealed that Miami was recruiting him the "hardest,"and the potential development he could receive under Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal was a key factor.

Cantwell doubled-down on that belief when sharing his insight on Tuesday.

"I think relationships won out with Miami," he said. "That’s what kind of did it for me. They spent the most time with me – they put the most effort into recruiting me."

When pressed again on the NIL situation, Cantwell pushed back on the narrative that Miami went above and beyond with its offer and acknowledge that his agent Drew Rosenhaus has been responsible in negotiating for fair compensation from each of his top schools.

"I’ve got a lot of skin in the game with all these schools, as far as getting represented by Drew and making sure that I’m going to be fairly compensated," he said. "And I think that every school has done a good job with being accommodating to that, and I think that anyone that would say otherwise of how I’ve done my recruitment has been misled."

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

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