Wolverine Digest

Former five-star Michigan target calls out On3 reporter for 'false narrative' with NIL

Former five-star Michigan target Jackson Cantwell recently called out On3's Pete Nakos for his reporting.

Chris Breiler

Nixa's Jackson Cantwell seen here against Webb City on August 25, 2023.
Nixa's Jackson Cantwell seen here against Webb City on August 25, 2023. / Bruce E Stidham Special to the News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK
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For a good portion of his recruitment, it looked like Michigan was a top contender for five-star OL Jackson Cantwell. The 6-7, 325 pound prospect out of Nixa (MO) was in Ann Arbor back in March and spent time with members of the Michigan coaching staff and roster. Although analysts gave Michigan a strong shot to land the highly coveted prospect, Cantwell ultimately left the Wolverines out of his top 4. Instead, he narrowed his choices to Miami, Georgia, Oregon, and Ohio State.

This week, Cantwell made it official by committing to the University of Miami.

Not long after the commitment, fans (and some analysts) rushed to social media to express their thoughts. Given the fact that Miami hasn't really been relevant on a national level in quite some time, the assumption was that Cantwell chose money over the opportunity to play for a national championship contender.

Cantwell clearly took issue with that assumption, going as far as to call out On3's Pete Nakos specifically for pushing "false narratives." When asked how he would respond to those who were saying he went to Miami for the money, Cantwell didn't hold back.

"Well, I think my response to it is it's not the same narrative people like Pete Nakos are pushing right now," Cantwell said. "I think that's just a false narrative that that's why I'm choosing, and I think that... I mean, I think relationships won out with Miami. That was kind of what did it for me. They spent the most time with me, they put the most effort into recruiting me. I mean, I've got a lot of skin in the game with all of the schools as far as getting represented by Drew [Rosenhaus] and making sure that I'm going to be fairly compensated. I think every school has done a good job with that, being accommodating with that. And I think anyone that would say otherwise about how I've done my recruitment has been misled."

It's no secret that NIL is certainly playing a massive role when recruiting highly rated prospects like Cantwell. And while Miami undoubtedly offered a lucrative package to the five-star prospect, the other programs involved likely offered competitive packages as well. At the same time, you can't always win recruiting battles with NIL alone. Based on his response, it's clear that Cantwell feels Miami did the best overall job in his recruitment, particularly when it comes to building a relationship.

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Chris Breiler
CHRIS BREILER

Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.

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