5-Star OL Target Breaks Down Latest UGA Football Visit

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ATHENS - As we reported last week, Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs had plenty of top targets in town over the weekend. 

One of them was 5-star offensive tackle, Jackson Cantwell‍.

He’s not a current 2025 target, but this multi-sport standout is ranked as the No. 2 OT prospect and the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2026 class.

The massive 6-foot-7 330-pounder also took weekend visits to LSU and Alabama as he makes his round of trips before the dead period begins. 

Cantwell, who is no stranger to Athens, gave Dawg Post a recap of how his visit went.

“I got to sit in meetings with the players, meet with Coach Searels and Coach Smart, play some water games, and keep building new relationships with other coaches and commits”, Cantwell said. “Coach Smart is a proven winner who has built a college football dynasty. Coach Searels has an incredible development record and has been a very good offensive line coach that plays lots of guys and gets a lot of guys drafted.”

“Their general pitch is that they develop players at all positions (especially OL) and that I fit their blueprint perfectly of someone who could play tackle for them”, Cantwell added.  “They are saying that I’m their top priority for my class and that I would be able to succeed as a football player, and also as a multi-sport athlete and student too.”

As a prospect, Cantwell moves extremely well for someone his size. He shows sound, balanced footwork with a strong initial punch on the defender. His length, athleticism, and max-effort style of play allowed him to completely dominate both in the run game and in pass protection. He can play in space and consistently buries defenders into the ground. He’s easy to run behind, and he’s a dependable protector who will only get better and better over time.

His dominance was on full display last season as a sophomore, and he should be even better this fall as a junior. This was his second visit to Athens in the last six months and a visit for a game this fall is likely under consideration.

Stacy Searels and the Dawgs signed seven offensive linemen in last year's 2024 class and have three current commitments, all who project as interior players, in this current 2025 cycle.