In football recruiting, you move on. You don't burn bridges, you don't trash the kid on social media, because it's a relationship business, and the high school coaches and parents remember how a program and its fans act when decisions don't go their way.
Oregon conducted a great recruitment effort for Jackson Cantwell. They were in it to the end, making a visit and a final offer the day before he announced.
The relationship karma they built in that process will pay dividends in the future, perhaps with the next high profile recruit in southeast Missouri, perhaps with Cantwell himself at a different point in his journey. The way you do business follows you.
Jackson Cantwell picked the Miami Hurricanes in a late-developing flip that the player says rested not on the size of the NIL payday but on the relationships he'd built with Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal.
Certainly the Miami tandem has a great track record developing offensive linemen. Penei Sewell is one of the highest-paid linemen in the game, and CMC had a series of first-rounders at Alabama.
It's only fair to take the player at his word, while noting that the family was represented by Drew Rosenhaus, an agent with a tremendous reputation as a hardball negotiator who gets maximum value for his clients.
His agency succeeded marvelously here, getting a NIL package worth a reported $2.5 million, exceptional for a freshman offensive tackle.
Landing great deals is an agent's job. The Cantwell family has to be lauded for getting their gifted, hardworking son the best representation in sports.
They also have to be acknowledged for being professional, courteous and above-board with every school involved in the process. Jackson took his visits and evaluated his options. The Cantwells were careful to limit the sideshow and see that the process created opportunities for other Nixa athletes.
Oregon moves on, and they do so with class, integrity and gratitude in the way that relationship unfolded. Dan Lanning is in Eugene for the long haul , and the recruiting process will continue to be marked by both competitive zeal and treating people the right way.
With seven months left until Early Signing Week the Ducks have eight commits in a class currently ranked No. 9. There are two dozen crucial visits in June, the opportunity to fashion Dan Lanning's fourth Top Ten class in a row (5,6,9 and 23, according to Rivals.)
On the offensive line, the Ducks lead for Georgetown Prep offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho, who has an official visit scheduled for June 20.
Alabama and home-state Maryland came off his latest list. "Right now I would say it's (Oregon), LSU, Penn State and Auburn. Probably in that order. I feel like the OVs can be the changing difference," Iheanacho said to 247 Sports.
5-star OT Immanuel Iheanacho working with A’lique Terry which Poncho looks on. pic.twitter.com/nKe1VAXalq
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) July 28, 2024
Other high-priority Oregon targets on the offensive line include 4-star Kelvin Olbot of Fruitland, Idaho, Tommy Tofi from Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco, Jax Turner from Rocky Mountain High in Meridian, Idaho.
Monday offensive line coach A'lique Terry made a school visit to Kannon Smith, currently committed to USC.
As time passes Lanning, Terry and the program will build even more credibility as a destination school for linemen. Josh Conerly went in the first round. Isaiah World and Iapani Laloulu have NFL futures.
Another reason relationships are so important in recruiting is that the annual coaching carousel often creates new opportunities.
As many as 4-5 Big Ten coaches will leave for the NFL, get fired or retire by the end of the year, creating new opportunities as their players reconsider their options. Not every team meets expectations. Programs get impatient.
A sharp coach with a plan and persistence can exploit the chaos. Occasionally, things fall off the moving truck.