On3 released their list of the highest paid recruits of the class of 2026, and Georgia fans are not pleased about it. According to On3, Miami offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell, Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, and USC tight end Mark Bowman are the highest three. They’re all set to make north of $1.5 million in this season and they were all heavily pursued by Georgia.
Georgia was once considered to be the favorite for both Cantwell and Bowman, while Curtis committed and decommitted from Georgia twice. Kirby Smart is known for getting great recruiting classes with less NIL money, so its unsurprising that none of these prospects ended up committing to Georgia.
Cantwell is a five-star offensive lineman from Nixa High School in Nixa, Missouri. The 6-foot-7, 325 pounder is the No. 1 offensive line prospect from the class of 2026. According to a prediction on 247Sports, he was projected to go to Georgia on May 11, 2025, but he committed to the Miami Hurricanes on May 13, 2025. He described the reason as a case of development over salary, but his NIL valuation was $1.9 million, and he’s rumored to make around $2 million a year.
The Bowman loss stings as well. Georgia has a ton of recruits in the tight end room, such as five-star tight end Kaiden Prothro. However, Bowman, who was ranked as the No. 2 tight end in the class of 2026, was projected to commit to Georgia via On3.
Unfortunately for Georgia, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound tight end out of Mater Dei High School stayed in state, choosing USC over Georgia on May 30, 2025. Bowman’s NIL contract could be between $5 million and $6.5 million through three years, and USC has the No. 1 2026 recruiting class in the nation, according to 247Sports.
The Curtis loss in recruitment hurt the most. Curtis is the No. 1 quarterback and No. 2 overall player in the class of 2026 committed to Georgia twice in his recruiting process. The 6-foot 3, 225-pounder committed to the Bulldogs on March 23, 2024, but he decommitted on Oct. 17, 2024.
However, Georgia won Curtis back on May 5, 2025. That set off a chain reaction of many recruits coming to Georgia. Those recruits remain, but Curtis visited the Vanderbilt Commodores on Oct. 25, 2025. Around a month later, on Dec. 2, 2025, Curtis flipped his commitment from Georgia to Vanderbilt.
He chose Vanderbilt partially due to proximity, since he goes to Nashville Christian High School in Nashville, Tennessee. However, his commitment to the Commodores drew a lot of ire from Georgia fans. His NIL valuation was $1.7 million as well, and he’s expected to make north of $2 million in his deal with Vanderbilt.
All three misses left Georgia with the No. 6 recruiting class. They still have five-star defensive tackle Valdin Sone and tight end Kaiden Prothro, but getting even one of those talents would’ve cemented Georgia’s class in the top five. They have the opportunity for revenge against Curtis, facing the Vanderbilt Commodores on Oct. 3, 2026 in Sanford Stadium.
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: 3 Georgia recruiting misses ranked as among highest-paid signees
