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Miami OT Jackson Cantwell jokes he is one of four things to come out of his hometown

Byington mugby: Alex Byington04/09/26_AlexByington

Five Star Plus+ Miami true freshman offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell knows his new South Florida home is a giant step up the social ladder from his tiny hometown of Nixa, Missouri. In fact, the top overall player in the 2026 recruiting cycle even has a little joke he likes to tell friends back home when they ask about his new life in Coral Gables (Fla.).

“I tell my friends back home, there’s four things that come out of Nixa, Missouri: beer, cigarettes, Jason Bourne, actually, and then me,” Cantwell joked with Bussin’ With The Boys podcast hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan.

Lewan, a former Michigan offensive lineman who went on to play nine years with the Tennessee Titans, was caught off guard by the Bourne nugget: “Jason Bourne? He actually said, ‘Jason Bourne, then me.'”

“He’s actually from Nixa, Missouri, you can look that up,” Cantwell affirmed before thanking the Bussin’ With The Boys crew for coming out to Miami’s practice Thursday.

Check out the exchange here:

As Cantwell attested, the fictional “Jason Bourne” character, a former CIA and government black ops agent, played by actor Matt Damon in the “Bourne” film series based on a series of novels by Robert Lundum is originally in the tiny southwestern Missouri town of Nixa, as revealed in the 2016 film Jason Bourne. In reality, Nixa has a population of under 24,000, according to the 2020 census, which is less than half of the population of Cantwell’s new home of Coral Gables, Fla., population of just under 50,000 in 2020.

The 6-foot-8, 325-pound Cantwell was the grand prize of Miami’s eighth-ranked 2026 recruiting class as the No. 1 overall player in the cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted composite of all three major recruiting media services.

“Big-framed offensive tackle with eye-popping athleticism and functional strength as a high school underclassman. Measured at over 6-foot-7, 305 pounds prior to his sophomore season. Has solid length with 33.5-inch arms and big hands. Owns a phenomenal athletic profile as one of the top shot put throwers in the country for his age group” Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power said about Cantwell.

“Posted a personal best throw of over 64 feet as a freshman. Also posted strong testing numbers in the college camp setting. Transfers those gifts over to the football field where he shows strong coordination and function strength. Moves well laterally and plays with a good anchor. Initially began his career as a tight end and has grown into an offensive tackle. Has deep athletic bloodlines with both parents being Olympic track and field athletes as throwers. Younger for the cycle with a May birthday.”