Alabama football’s head coach Kalen DeBoer made a visit to Missouri to check in on Jackson Cantwell.
Cantwell is a 2026 consensus five-star offensive lineman out of Nixa High School in Missouri. He is also the consensus No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in the 2026 class.
The Crimson Tide have been a consistent part of Cantwell’s recruitment for almost a year. He recently expressed his confidence in Kalen DeBoer while talking to media members at Under Armour All-America Media day.
“They are a very good football team,” Cantwell said. “There’s some question about if they could have made it in the playoffs or not, and with one game going right for them, they probably would have made it in with a pretty high seed. They’re a team that’s been a blue blood for a while now. I think Kalen Deboer does a fantastic job. I think he gets over-criticized a bunch because he’s not Nick Saban, but you don’t have to be Nick Saban to be a great football coach. He is a proven winner. He’s won everywhere he’s been. He’s won at D3. He’s one at D1 FCS. He’s won at Power Five. He’s the guy that we’ll go out there and win football games.”
Alabama’s offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic also made the visit to Missouri along with the Tide’s general manager Courtney Morgan. Cantwell and Kapilovic actually share a few ties.
“We had some ties from Michigan State, but I just didn’t talk to them as much, but when he got to Bama, we already had that connection, so it helped out a lot,” said Cantwell. “He went to Missouri State, 20 minutes for me, so he knows my area really well. It’s kind of cool to get to share that.”
The massive 6-foot-7 offensive lineman is agile and explosive as a tackle.
Watch Jackson Cantwell Highlights Below:
Alabama will continue to prioritize the five-star.
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Justin Smith is the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
