The 2024 season has been lucky for the Michigan Wolverines’ debut head coach, Sherrone Moore. After all, they got one of their biggest flex. Flipping No.1 QB recruit Bryce Underwood from the LSU Tigers. However, Moore is in no mood to hit the settle button anytime soon. Now that he has landed Underwood successfully, it gave a big boost to his confidence. So, it’s time for another No.1 recruit chase. This time, it’s five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell. The race to hunt down Cantwell was no cakewalk. There even came a time when he had almost slipped out of Moore’s hands. However, here comes a big update about Cantwell’s future intentions in his college football career.
Now, anyone can write a suspense story out of Arnold’s debut in college football. He is all set to start his long visit spree. Miami on May 9, Missouri on May 31, Ann Arbor on June 13, and Eugene on June 20. Initially, fans were under the impression that the Missouri Tigers would get a green pass in landing Cantwell. That’s because he had grown up on the University of Missouri campus. However, the “culture” in Moore’s squad held a special spot in the 5-star’s heart. As he once claimed, “A lot of the reasons I like Ann Arbor is they are producing O-linemen year and year now. If you look at the draft portal from last year, there were six O-linemen.” However, this has not been the case since the beginning.
Michigan has surged into contention for the nation’s No. 1 recruit— Jackson Cantwell.
The Wolverines built momentum with the 5 OT during two critical visits.
“It’s a program that’s as storied as it gets”
A behind the scenes look at U-M’s push: https://t.co/uw6IIRoEWW pic.twitter.com/Vrsd1Rh4Hw
— Ethan McDowell (@ethanmmcdowell) March 31, 2025
Late last year, Michigan appeared to sit on the outside looking in on the elite offensive linemen’s recruitment. However, after a couple of visits, things started to change. On March 31, the On3 Sports analyst Ethan McDowell tweeted how Moore and Co. are heading towards the finish line to seal the deal with Cantwell. It read, “Michigan has surged into contention for the nation’s No. 1 recruit— Jackson Cantwell. The Wolverines built momentum with the 5 OT during two critical visits.” His first trip to Ann Arbor was on December 15, which happened to be a long overdue visit. Cantwell wanted to meet Moore and Co. last spring but had to cancel the plan due to his deteriorating health.
But after his visit, he knew that Michigan would be a big competitor. “I started to narrow it down, and I realized Michigan was one of the schools I really thought I could potentially want to go to, and I started wanting to learn more about them.” What makes the Wolverines stand out among the top-ranked lineman’s other suitors? Nixa High School star had his answer all ready.
“It’s a program that’s as storied as it gets. They’re known for o-line development. They’re one of those programs you can count on to do that year in, year out, regardless of who’s in there. There’s a lot of intriguing stuff about Michigan.” Moore already has got two five-star offensive tackles in the 2025 class – Andrew Babalola and Ty Haywood. And when it comes to the Wolverines’ offensive line, they are already vibing with young and high spirits. They have 5 stars: Andrew Sprague, Blake Frazier, Ben Roebuck, and Jake Guarnera. With this, there are four-star linemen Avery Gach and Kaden Strayhorn. Plus, Michigan’s academic offerings also stood out. After all, Cantwell Michigan’s academic offerings also stood out. So, even outside of football, the resources and networking will be good for his academic growth. Finally, Moore and Co. has tightened their grip, leaving more than one program crestfallen.
The unfortunate programs in pursuit of Jackson Cantwell
Back in February, the 6’8” offensive lineman out of Missouri shortlisted his top six schools. Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, and Miami. However, out of them, Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes left a deep mark. In one of 247Sports’ interviews, he said, “Miami excites me a lot because they have an offensive-line-oriented head coach in Mario Cristobal. I like Coach Cristobal a lot. I think Coach Mirabal is a top-five O-line coach in the country…They always seem to have the right guys on the offensive line.”
The Hurricanes won his heart when he paid a visit during the Hurricanes’ win over Duke last season. In this, the Cam Ward factor played a big role behind Cantwell’s growing interest for the Canes. However, his love for Miami was short-lived. That’s because Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes jumped into the race. The Buckeys and Cantwell had a meet-up on March 22. After which, the No.1 recruit posted a picture that showed HC Day standing in as the ‘H’ to help the Cantwell family form the signature ‘O-H-I-O’ sign.
The 16-year-old was truly touched by this gesture. In an interview, he confessed, “This is probably a big visit for me because I’ll get to meet coach [Tyler] Bowen and the other assistants in person for the first time. I will also get to learn about those coaches. Then watching the team practice will be instrumental to see if/when an official visit could be.” However, Arnold has his eyes fixed on the long run for which the Wolverines hit the right spots. “I feel like they [Michigan] could be a long-term fit for me.”
Now, the ball is in Michigan’s court – they must make a substantial offer to wrap up the Jackson Cantwell saga once and for all.
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