Ohio State Buckeyes, Ryan Day Still In The Mix For Top National Recruit
Jackson Cantwell out of Nixa, Missouri, is a big-time 2026 recruit, and that’s not an understatement in any way. He’s a 6-foot-7.5, 300-pound offensive tackle with offers from all over the country. Though he could play college ball anywhere, he’s figured out that four schools stand out above the rest.
His top four is Georgia, Oregon, Miami and Ohio State.
That’s huge news for the Buckeyes because they tend to do well with top recruits (see: Smith, Jeremiah). There’s also more news on the recruiting trail front with Cantwell, though. He was originally going to announce his commitment to one of the above four schools on April 30.
He’s now announcing that he’s decided to move that decision date back to May 13, which will allow him to take an unofficial visit to UGA.
While that may seem like great news for the Bulldogs — and Keegan Pope of On3 is reporting that this is largely seen as a three-team race between Oregon, Miami and Georgia — you can’t count Ryan Day and the Buckeyes out on anything nowadays.
Keep in mind, Cantwell did visit Ohio State in November of 2024 and then earlier this spring in March, and Pope does say that OSU quickly jumped up the big offensive lineman’s list after those two visits.
It may be a long shot for the Buckeyes, but they absolutely can’t be counted out considering what Day is already building in 2026. His class is ranked No. 3 nationally with 11 commitments. That includes a commitment from 5-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr.
According to the 247Sports Composite, Cantwell is the consensus No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 class.
Andrew Kulha has been a professional sports writer for over 15 years, starting as an intern at Bleacher Report in 2010 and working his way through basically the entire online sports media landscape.
