All roads don’t lead to the SEC: Jackson Cantwell’s decision to pick Miami a win for the ACC

Jackson Cantwell and his parents once drove 1,200 miles through the heart of SEC Country to visit LSU, Georgia and Alabama.

“We had a pretty cool setup,” the Missouri native who is ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the 247Sports Composite said in December before the Under Armour All-American game. “We put a bed in the back of the car, laid it out and it made it a lot better.”

Cantwell, an offensive lineman whose parents were Olympic shot putters, might have been on a road directly to an SEC or Big Ten school in years past. That’s where the majority of five-star recruits have ended up.

But he is headed to the ACC instead. Miami won the battle for his services Tuesday, outdueling big boys Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State.

Cantwell’s decision probably will not resonate with college football fans beyond the sickos who love recruiting. Not in the age of NIL and the transfer portal. But it’s still a big deal. It’s a sign that the expansion of the College Football Playoff has opened doors for others — those who are also willing to match or exceed NIL offers from perennial contenders.

Cantwell talked about it in December.

“Originally, Georgia, Bama, Ohio State and Clemson, those were kind of four schools that, like most blue-chip guys, would end up going to,” he said. “But now everything’s so spread out, the resources are spread out, you’re not just vying for those same four jobs. There’s a lot of great jobs. There’s a lot of great situations in other places. You can be successful anywhere.”

Much will be made of the lucrative NIL deal — $2.5 million per year, according to On3 — the Hurricanes will pay Cantwell to become their future left tackle. But he was going to get paid wherever he went. This was as much about his respect for head coach Mario Cristobal and position coach Alex Mirabal as it was the paycheck.

Cristobal and Mirabal have a track record of putting linemen into the NFL, including three-time Pro Bowl selection Penei Sewell of the Detroit Lions. Miami right tackle Francis Maugioa will likely be the duo’s next elite offensive tackle headed toward a big NFL payday. Cantwell called Mirabal the best offensive line coach in the country long before he committed to Miami.

The Hurricanes featured one of the best offenses in college football last season with No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Cam Ward, a Heisman finalist, leading them to a 10-3 record. It represented progress in Cristobal’s third season in charge, but was still short of the leap forward Miami fans want to see. The Hurricanes, who won five national championships from 1981 to 2001, have been in the ACC since 2004 and have made only one appearance in the league championship game. Cristobal just completed the program’s second 10-win season since 2003.

Miami signed back-to-back top-seven recruiting classes in Cristobal’s first two full recruiting cycles, but the Canes’ 2025 class was ranked No. 13 and included only one top-100 prospect.

Cristobal lost some juice on the trail late in the process when blue-chip safety Drake Stubbs flipped to Florida and linebacker Gavin Nix dropped the Hurricanes for Oregon. Nix said seeing Miami’s defense struggle late in the season is what ultimately led him to change his mind despite a bigger NIL offer from the Hurricanes.

“No diss to Miami, but I had a chance to pursue my dreams with coach (Dan) Lanning and the staff,” Nix said in December at the Under Armour All-American game.

Cristobal revamped Miami’s defensive staff following the season

Winning still matters to most high-end recruits. If you make the NIL playing field relatively equal, they’ll typically pick the program with the chance to win big over the one taking small steps forward.

Miami’s robust NIL spending at least gives the Hurricanes a fighting chance to land difference-makers such as Cantwell.

It’s also good for college football to have programs outside the SEC and Big Ten winning some of these battles.

In the 2025 recruiting class, only 15 of the top 100 prospects did not sign with an SEC or Big Ten school, and just two of the 32 five-stars — defensive lineman Amare Adams (Clemson) and offensive tackle Will Black (Notre Dame) — picked programs outside of the Big 2.

In the recent NFL Draft, the SEC (15) and Big Ten (11) owned 26 of the 32 first-round selections.

There’s no guarantee Cantwell will end up as a first-round pick or that he’ll help Miami finally get over the hump and win an ACC title. But it’s noteworthy that a program that hasn’t won on the field in a long time won a big recruiting battle.

It’s a sign that all roads don’t just automatically lead to the SEC and Big Ten.

(Photo of Mario Cristobal: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)