Kirby Smart Receives Tough 325lb News as Jackson Cantwell Déjà Vu Looms Over Georgia

Since taking the reins in 2016, Kirby Smart has turned Georgia into a national power perennial, piling up national championships, SEC titles, and a stockpile of NFL prospects. He enters his 10th season at Athens, already sitting at 105-19, consecutive national championships in 2021 and 2022, and more first-round NFL Draft selections than total career losses. What’s the secret to Georgia’s sustained dominance? It’s Smart’s relentless emphasis on recruiting and developing players. The Bulldogs are reloading elite talents, even as they replace waves of NFL-bound stars.

Georgia’s mindset will be tested in 2025 as the program navigates two major transitions: Breaking in a new quarterback and replacing a wave of defensive standouts. But the expectation level in Athens never wavers: win championships and continue the home winning streak (now over 30 games). That’s where players like Seven Cloud step in. Cloud, the No.1 JUCO player in the country, just shut down his recruitment and reaffirmed his commitment to Georgia, giving Kirby Smart another elite defensive lineman to build around. Cloud originally hails from Georgia and took his journey through Butler College, but now he’s set to finally don the red and black. He’s the lone defensive lineman from Georgia’s 2026 class to date, and his commitment is a significant acquisition for a defense seeking to reload with new blood.

Now, Cloud, has been a rock-steady commit since December 2024, and considered the best JUCO defensive lineman. But it is beginning to wear on him. What’s fueling the fire is that Cloud just signed with super-agent Drew Rosenhaus, the agent who also had Jackson Cantwell. Yes, Cantwell! The five-star offensive tackle who courted the Bulldogs, only to leave them high and dry and sign at Miami. Graham Coffey shared a tweet recently, “UGA commit Seven Cloud signs with Drew Rosenhaus, the same agent who represented Jackson Cantwell in his recent NIL negotiations. This could get interesting.”

UGA commit Seven Cloud signs with Drew Rosenhaus, the same agent who represented Jackson Cantwell in his recent NIL negotiations

This could get interesting https://t.co/H2nmWddVqa

— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) May 19, 2025

The comparisons are unavoidable. Kirby Smart must be experiencing some serious flashbacks with Seven Cloud, the 325-pound defensive lineman recruit, possibly slipping away from Georgia’s grasp just as Jackson Cantwell did. Not the confidence builder Bulldogs fans were looking for. Rosenhaus has a reputation for playing hardball and negotiating his clients to the best offers, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that Cloud would be reconsidering his allegiance to Athens.

Georgia fans are likely grumbling “Here we go again” under their breath, hoping this is not another Cantwell scenario. Losing a 325-pound defensive lineman creates a large gap in a defense that is supposed to hold the Bulldogs at the top, not just a small setback. As of now, these are just speculations, but with only six commits from the 2026 class so far, Cloud’s potential flip would reopen wounds left by Cantwell’s dramatic departure.

Cantwell’s Bulldog bound to Hurricane land

Jackson Cantwell’s choice to select Miami over Georgia is the type of recruiting bombshell that is leaving Bulldog supporters stunned and Mario Cristobal smiling in South Beach. The coaches meant Cantwell, the 6-foot-8, 315-pound offensive tackle with a 40-yard dash time of 5.22 seconds, to be the next big star in Athens. Georgia had put out the red carpet, and Cantwell himself described the Bulldogs’ development plan as “standing out.” For a moment, it appeared Kirby Smart had secured his guy. But then, in a plot twist befitting a Netflix series, Cantwell made his decision during a flight home, of all things. He had it down to Georgia and Miami, and when he arrived, he informed his parents he was going to the Hurricanes.

Whisper is that Miami made the deal sweeter with a $2 million NIL package. Cantwell, whose high-powered agent Drew Rosenhaus represents him, claims he wasn’t strictly motivated by money, explaining he just wanted to be content where he played. But fans speculated when Rosenhaus is your agent and there’s a humongous check involved, it’s tough not to see the elephant (or perhaps the Hurricane) in the room. Georgia sources, such as Matt DeBary, aren’t buying the “it’s not about the money” explanation, noting that NIL contracts are revolutionizing recruiting, and this was a textbook bidding war.

Kirby Smart said he won’t bid up freshmen in wild bidding wars and is concerned with the long-term effect of NIL on college sports. He wants to build players the right way, not pay them. But losing Cantwell hurts Georgia, particularly after a disappointing season that exposed weaknesses on both sides of the ball. While the run game was floundering and the defense was in rebuild mode, a blue-chip offensive tackle such as Cantwell would have been an immense asset.

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