Jackson Cantwell Confirms Major Career Roadblock in Miami After Committing to Mario Cristobal

Jackson Cantwell finds himself at a crossroads lately. It’s not just football ruling his life. His goal is to break Missouri’s high school discus record of 66.55 meters held by Jefferson City’s Devin Roberson. On the other hand, he is here to take Miami’s offense to another level. “At the end of the day, I’m a football player. I want to play football,” Cantwell said before he stepped into Miami. He wants the best of both worlds and is trying to find a middle path. Can football be immune to the cut-up attention?

The Nixa High School product has established himself as one of the nation’s top shot put and discus throwers. Last summer, he took the spotlight, winning the national championship in the shot put and attaining a high rank in the discus at Nike Nationals. His father, Christian Cantwell, a former Olympic silver medalist in shot put, made sure his son did justice to his genes. His mother, Teri Cantwell, an Olympian for Team USA, was a two-time NCAA shot put champion during her career at SMU.

Blood doesn’t lie. Jackson Cantwell had to eventually forgo his senior track season at school. But how about a resume in Miami? It sounds ideal, but in reality, it’s a little dicey. Cantwell has to make a call, prioritizing the best of his career.  “So, that is actually like the decision within the decision. Because I think it’ll be easier to do in Miami than, like it would have been at like, a couple of the other places I was being recruited at,” the five-star OT said, shedding light on the different perspectives on different programs in an interview with insider Gaby Urrutia.

“I mean, it’s been interesting because there are some schools, like I’ll just say, for example, Oregon was a school that, like, they were going to market me as a dual sport guy. That was their plan. They needed me to come in so that to be able to like market me. Because it’s hard to market, just no lineman to be honest,” Cantwell added. But at the end of the day, he knows that Dan Lanning won’t pay him for the track. It’s always football. The goal is the NFL….

“There were some other schools where they’re like, look, you can do it, and we’ll support you, but we don’t recommend it.” Cantwell revealed how some schools felt worried about the aftermath of pursuing both sports at once. They were not really ready to risk compromising the football. “I think Miami is somewhere in the middle, too. I could do it there, and there have been guys who have done it before. When you look at the 2001 team, they had a lot of guys who did dual sport, and I think Chris Paul would be open to it.” Ultimately, the OT trusted Mario Cristobal and his program because of their past success. It’s no cakewalk to do that, as we still need to consider and study a few things.

Jackson Cantwell doesn’t keep football on the secondary even for a moment. But he doesn’t believe his shot put career is over for good. He’s ready to knock on every locked door to make the rare feat happen. “I mean, the school record in Miami is only about 19 meters. I would beat that right now. So I would like to go at least get that before I go there,” said the standout 2026 prospect crafting a rough balancing plan of work. “If not, go win ACCs and try to win a national championship, too, freshman year, I guess, sort of senior year, freshman year for track.”

“It’s cool to get that competition, like in the offseason. It’s truly hard to replicate that in spring ball, the amount those guys are doing. But also, I mean, it would be pretty cool to get to kind of hone in those reps as well during the spring, because you can’t really replace that. So it’s a double-edged sword, and I’m really it’s a little conflicting, I can’t lie.” But it’s not impossible. Cantwell, with a fiery willpower, can really get his hands on two sports. He just needs to see how deep the water is in the next six months before making up his mind.

Miami football legend helps Jackson Cantwell brew hope about the Track and Field future

Before Cantwell committed, everyone thought he was heavily leaning towards Georgia, and landing that 5-star QB Jared Curtis just added to the buzz. Then Miami came along with rumors of a $2 million offer for the OT, though his parents downplayed the money’s impact. But you know what probably really swayed Cantwell? Vince Wilfork.

Wilfork, who clinched two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, nailed a throw during high school. He smashed an indoor throwing record when he played for “The U.” As Cantwell’s parents seemed to be worried about their son’s NFL goal, that’s a silent assurance to them.

Wilfork wanted to see the Nixa kid follow in his footsteps. He picked up his phone and made a move to convince Cantwell that he will get what he wants as a dual sports star in Miami. That was ideally an end to his search. It was, after all, not a hollow promise but rather an instance that carries weight.

“He told me that he used to not tell players to go there because it wasn’t very good before,” Cantwell said. “Once (Mario) Cristobal got there, he said he feels confident in telling guys to do it because he has the culture back and that there’s a fantastic thing going on there.” It will be interesting to see if Vince can make the rough path a bit easier and smoother for Cantwell, pursuing two legacies on the same ground.

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