Notre Dame Is Pushing For Elite Offensive Tackle Jackson Cantwell

Star 2026 offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell talks early relationship with Notre Dame

When you’re discussing elite recruits in the 2026 recruiting class, you can’t have the conversation without Nixa (Mo.) High School offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell. The Missouri star was offered by Notre Dame on Sunday during the Pot of Gold offer event.

Obviously, Notre Dame has a great reputation developing offensive lineman historically. That’s something that appeals to Cantwell, along with his good early relationship with the Irish staff.

"They are a good offensive line school that had a lot of success in the past,” Cantwell told Irish Breakdown. "They are looking to build off that and be successful in the future.

“Everything with Notre Dame is pretty good,” he continued. “I’ve gotten to talk to Coach (Joe) Rudolph, Coach (Marcus) Freeman, and Dre Brown a lot the past month. We’ve talked about schemes, the university, and my high school stuff a lot.”

Pot of Gold was an unfamiliar event for Cantwell, who was very complimentary of it overall. Seeing Irish offers take over the internet for a day was very cool to see.

"It’s a very unique event from what I’ve seen so far,” said Cantwell. "It was cool to be a part of it.”

For Notre Dame, getting Cantwell to campus is a priority. He hasn’t traveled much this offseason, taking in two familiar places.

"Recruiting has been hectic, but really fun,” he explained. "I took two visits already to Georgia and Missouri and may potentially take another but nothing is solidified yet.”

It is going to be a difficult battle for Cantwell, who has an argument as a top overall player in the 2026 class. Notre Dame will continue to battle, with this just being the start.

Cantwell is already considered an elite prospect in the 2026 recruiting class. Rivals has him currently rated as a five-star recruit, including sitting as the No. 2 overall player in the class. 247Sports also has him pegged as the No. 5 overall player and No. 2 offensive tackle in 2026.

It should be no surprise that Cantwell already boasts an incredible offer list. Some do the top programs who have already offered him include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, Miami, Florida State, Oregon, Ohio State, Tennessee, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Penn State, Auburn, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State, TCU, Arkansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas and Illinois.

The 6-7, 300-pound offensive tackle was a huge reason for Nixa finishing with a 11-1 record this past season. As an offense, they averaged 264.2 rushing yards per game while averaging 7.6 yards per carry and scoring 46 touchdowns on the ground. As a unit, they averaged 37.1 points per game in 2023.

Cantwell is also an outstanding thrower on the track and field team for Nixa. As a freshman, he was a Missouri Class 5 champion in the shot put with a personal best throw of 64 '3.75". He also starred in the discus, including a personal best toss of 191’ 4.5”. That raw power is very easy to see on film.

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