Is there anything Jackson Cantwell can't do well?
During Nixa's summer camp and pre-season practices, Nixa coach John Perry warned fans not to expect too much too soon from Cantwell. He felt Cantwell's progression as a football player was behind where he is as a budding star in track and basketball.
Perry felt his 6-foot-8, 270-pound offensive lineman would go through somewhat of a customary freshman season and see varsity time as a backup.
Indeed, during summer camp in July, Cantwell could be seen towering above his classmates while practicing with the Eagles' freshman team; not a varsity player was in sight.
Yet, less than a month into this season, Cantwell received his first start in Nixa's Week Three win at Carthage. This past weekend, he went on his first college visit and received an offer from Kansas State.
It's been the kind of whirlwind that surely doesn't happen every year in the Ozarks.
"I was on the freshman team at the start of the summer, so I wasn't where I wanted to be. But, over time and through (summer) camp and the lineman camp we went to, I improved a lot," Cantwell said. "I've gradually improved and gotten one percent better every day. That has gotten me to the position I am now.
"Honestly, I didn't see myself here," he added. "I thought it would be a development year. But I guess (Nixa coaches) thought I was ready to be thrown straight into the fire. I'm glad they did. It will help me going into the next couple of years already having experience."
Over the next couple of years, Perry doesn't think there is any limit to what Cantwell can do.
"He's phenomenal," Perry said. "He's gotten better every single day. His work ethic is such that he comes to learn and get better every single day. The sky is the limit for that dude. He'll be one of the top recruits in America his junior year."
Cantwell's physical tools make him already capable of things 99 percent of seniors can only dream of. For instance, he's maxing out on the bench press by doing two reps at 385 pounds as a 14-year-old who won't celebrate his 15th birthday until May.
"Seeing him lift as much as he does, it's insane. He's a freak," quarterback Connor Knatcal said. "From what I understand, his love is track. But I can honestly see him going to a power-five (conference school in college) for football if he wants to. He's going to be something special."
Cantwell has been mindful to pick the brains of his senior cohorts along the offensive line who have much more experience than he does.
"I don't know if I would be where I am without the help of those guys," he said. "They've pushed me to be better every single day."
Cantwell reports there is no doubt at this stage in his career which he is better at, run-blocking or pass-blocking.
"Absolutely pass-blocking, it's not even close," he said. "It comes more naturally to me. My physicality hasn't developed as much as I want it to. Eventually, I think it will and I can become a great run-blocker. I'm happy to keep making improvement. But right now, I'm better in pass protection."
Whether Cantwell reaches his full potential on the gridiron remains to be seen. The possibility exists that he won't play football in college and instead follows the same path of his father, Christian, a former world champion shot putter who was fourth at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
"I'm 270 pounds as a freshman, so basketball probably isn't the (college sport) I'm looking at the most," Jackson said. "It depends on how much I want to do track. Football might be an option. People are doing a lot of talking about (his future options) from what I've seen and obviously I'm excited about it, too. I can't wait to see where this goes."
"What he does and where he goes from there, that's totally on him," Perry said. "He's going to be great at several different things. If you have options, that's a good thing and he's going to have a ton of options."
