Kirby Smart seems to be having an average offseason this year. On the recruiting front, the HC is yet to make a splash to have heads turning. He’s picking up pace in landing commits, but blue-chip names are not coming in that easily. So far, he only has one 5-star recruit: Jared Curtis. Turns out, even a QB that elite is not being successful in getting more talent to commit to the Bulldogs. Being in the shadow of Carson Beck‘s transfer, Smart looks to be losing out on a major talent in the 2026 class. Based on the contenders Smart lost to, there’s good reason for him being disgruntled at one of them.

Curtis is the star of Kirby Smart’s recruiting campaign, whom he scored in a major win. This is the second time the QB is committing to Georgia, after Oregon turned out to be a key contender to land the 5-star QB. Kirby Smart, time and again, has finished with a top-5 recruiting class. After landing Curtis, Smart also got a nod of confirmation from Jordan Smith, a top WR recruit in the class. Having these players is solidifying the Bulldogs’ roster for the future. But, he is looking to falter in securing the commitment of elite OT Immanuel Iheanacho, and more importantly, the much-talked-about Jackson Cantwell.

Georgia no longer seems to be a favorite of Iheanacho, who is predicted to go to Oregon by On3’s Steve Wiltfong. Iheanacho is the No. 2 prospect in the 2026 class, and On3 says Dan Lanning has a 72.5% chance of winning his commitment. Surprisingly, there was a time when Oregon could feel him slipping away. But spring must’ve made an impression on him, making him lean away from Kirby Smart. Iheanacho is the first Division I prospect out of Georgetown Prep in decades.

Jackson Cantwell, on the other hand, rubbed salt in Smart’s wounds from the Carson Beck transfer. He was interested in Georgia, but Hayes Fawcett took to X on May 13 to announce a different reality. “Five-Star Plus+ OT Jackson Cantwell on his decision to commit to Miami 🙌.” The reason? “Development was a huge factor and told me multiple times there’s not a better OL Coach/Developer in CFB than Alex Mirabal.” “I chose Miami because I felt it was the best situation for me to grow and develop, not only on the field as an offensive lineman but as a person,” Cantwell said. This is after weeks of Smart and Lanning chasing after the OT, who ultimately crowned Mario Cristobal as the winner.

The recruiting timeline of both these prospects has been a close competition between Smart and Lanning, where one was suddenly getting an edge over the other. However, along with Smart, Cantwell’s loss to Miami will also be felt by Jared Curtis.

Along with Kirby Smart, Jared Curtis is also feeling the impact

Both these losses are a problem for Jared Curtis, but Cantwell’s loss is more stinging. He was very eager for Cantwell to land in Georgia and was confident about the latter’s last visit to Georgia. “Let’s get it done Jackson Cantwell!!” Curtis said on his social media, “Go Dawgs!” Soon after Curtis announced his commitment, Cantwell congratulated him on X. Curtis comes in with 9,328 all-purpose yards and 130 total touchdowns. To that firepower, Cantwell could have added his arsenal of 286 pancake blocks.

An offensive line featuring Cantwell, with Curtis behind it, could prove to be quite a powerful pairing for Kirby Smart. Curtis himself met with Cantwell before the latter announced his commitment to Miami, which indicates that he really wanted the two of them to be playing together. But sadly, they will be facing off with each other in the future. There was once a time when both were growing warm towards Oregon. Cantwell held on to Oregon even when Curtis grew warmer to the program. But if the QB came to Georgia, then Dan Lanning still stood a chance.

In Iheanacho, Curtis would’ve found a serious offensive weapon, considering his measurables of 6’7″ and 320 lbs. This trio stood to potentially pack quite the punch into opponent defenses if they had arrived in Georgia together. But with Cantwell heading to Miami, Iheanacho now has more space for himself, in a loaded Oregon 2026 class. While Smart does have a promising 2026 team, missing out on these two recruits has got to be a sore loss.