An Outlier in Kane Archer’s Arkansas-Flavored Favorites + More Recruiting Nuggets

Keenan Britt, Jackson Cantwell, Kane Archer, Arkansas football, Arkansas recruiting
photo credit: Twitter/Keenan Britt / Twitter/Jackson Cantwell / Twitter/Kane Archer

It is probably far from the favorite at this point, but Arkansas football is at least in the mix for one of the top overall players in the country in the Class of 2026.

Jackson Cantwell, an offensive tackle from Nixa, Mo., recently narrowed his list of more than 30 offers down to 14 schools still in the hunt — and the Razorbacks made the cut.

In an interview with On3, the 6-foot-7, 305-pound lineman mentioned head coach Sam Pittman and offensive line coach Eric Mateos when discussing why Arkansas was in his top 14. He also pointed out that Fayetteville is only two hours away, making it the closest Power Four school to his hometown.

Of course, as a consensus top-10 overall recruit, Cantwell has plenty of options. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss and Texas A&M are the other SEC schools that made his top 14, while the rest of the list consists of Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon and USC.

Among that group, Arkansas can probably be considered a long shot, at best. Still, Cantwell has at least made multiple trips down to Fayetteville and seems to have genuine interest.

Another thing working in the Razorbacks’ favor is that he’s expected to be a two-sport athlete in college. The son of two former Olympians, he’s also an elite track and field athlete in throwing events. Arkansas has a premier track program, so that could be a notch in its favor for Cantwell.

However, that will be a moot point if Pittman can’t get things turned around on the gridiron. When asked by On3 what would be a primary factor in his decision, the first thing Cantwell mentioned was “football team success.”

Even if the Razorbacks win enough games to save Pittman’s job this year, they’ll likely need to exceed that threshold to be a serious contender for Cantwell’s services.

Arkansas-Flavored Favorites for Kane Archer

Another high-caliber 2026 recruit in Arkansas’ backyard is Greenwood quarterback Kane Archer.

Now a rising junior, Archer has been on the national recruiting scene since picking up multiple Power Four offers when he was still an eighth grader.

He’s since lived up to the hype as a starting quarterback, leading the Bulldogs to an undefeated state championship in 2023, and has continued to rack up offers.

Archer’s father recently told Best of Arkansas Sports that the four schools making the “biggest impression” on his four-star son are Arkansas, UCF, SMU and Minnesota. It makes sense the Razorbacks are on that list, but the others do, too, if you dig a little deeper.

Even though the Archer family had no prior relationship with them, a pair of Arkansas natives – Gus Malzahn and Rhett Lashlee, respectively – are in charge of the UCF and SMU football programs.

The Minnesota connection is a little less obvious. That is where Fayetteville High standout and Arkansas legacy Drake Lindsey, another talented in-state quarterback, signed in the 2024 class, but this one’s an exception because the Arkansas connection had nothing to do with getting Archer on the Gophers’ radar.

Instead, Archer’s father said it likely stemmed from Kane’s work with quarterback guru Jeff Christensen, a former NFL quarterback who now trains the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Mitch Trubisky and others. Someone in the Minnesota football program knows Christensen and got them in touch.

(READ NEXT: Kane Archer’s father reveals what could “quadruple” Arkansas’ chances of landing the 4-star QB)

Decision Dates for Arkansas Football Targets

At SEC Media Days last week, Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman revealed that his goal each year is to sign 20 high school players and fill out the rest of the roster via the transfer portal.

The Razorbacks fell short of that in the 2024 class, bringing in 17 high schoolers, but are trending toward reaching it in the 2025 cycle.

They actually met last year’s total with Monday’s commitment of cornerback Nigel Pringle from Houston and can reach their goal number in the coming weeks if things go perfectly, as three 2025 targets are set to soon announce their decisions:

  • OL Lionel Prudhomme (Friday): Although the Shreveport, La., product is officially down to six schools, it is believed to be a two-team competition between Arkansas and Mississippi State. That means the Razorbacks are going head-to-head with former offensive line coach Cody Kennedy for the three-star interior lineman. (The other four schools in the mix are Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Houston and Tulane.)
  • DT Reginald Vaughn (Saturday): A four-star defensive lineman at Hartfield Academy in Mississippi, Vaughn is down to four SEC schools — Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. He’ll announce his decision at 4 p.m. CT that day.
  • RB Cameron Settles (Aug. 3): The Razorbacks missed out on Omarion Robinson (Oklahoma) and Monterrio Elston (Kansas State), but did land Quentin Murphy from Little Rock Parkview and are now in the mix for Settles, their teammate. His top six includes only two Power Four schools (Arkansas and Missouri), as well as Arkansas State, Memphis and Tulsa from the Group of Five ranks and Yale, an FCS program in the Ivy League.

As a bonus, the Razorbacks also have one of their top 2026 targets set to announce a decision within the next week…

  • LB Keenan Britt (July 29): Does Travis Williams have another surprise up his sleeve? The Arkansas defensive coordinator already pulled off a big one by landing Tavion Wallace in the 2025 class and is now going after a top-250 prospect from Oxford, Ala., who also has Auburn in his top five (along with Oregon, Ole Miss and South Carolina). Britt is an Auburn legacy, as his older brother is former All-SEC linebacker K.J. Britt — who just so happened to be coached by Williams. It’s also worth noting that Arkansas was the younger Britt’s first offer.

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Check out some highlights from Arkansas football target Jackson Cantwell’s sophomore season:

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More coverage of Arkansas football and Arkansas recruiting from BoAS… 

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