Eli Drinkwitz shares his favorite aspects of Williams Nwaneri as a recruit

Eli Drinkwitz has made a habit of signing Five-Star Plus+ players out of the Show Me State. After landing Luther Burden in the 2022 cycle, Missouri arguably made a bigger splash by signing 2024 EDGE Williams Nwaneri on Wednesday. Nwaneri was wanted by every program in the country but when a decision was made, he chose Mizzou over Georgia and Oklahoma.

Recruiting lasts longer than just a one-year cycle, especially when looking at local programs with a ton of talent. Drinkwitz says Nwaneri has been on Mizzou’s radar for quite some time and a player they have liked.

“First off, he comes from a really good program,” Drinkwitz said when speaking to On3’s Andy Staples. “Lee’s Summit North, Coach Mozee, does an excellent job. We have a couple players from there in our program already. So, we knew about Williams. We tracked him through 7-on-7 camps, team camps. A lot of different in-person evaluations.

“He’s got great size and length. He’s got pass-rush ability. He can really bend. We can’t wait for him to grow into his frame to make sure he’s really developing his fundamentals. I think, really, the sky is the limit.”

Nwaneri played high school football at Kansas City (MO) Lee’s Summit North, where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Some Mizzou fans will enjoy who On3 has compared Nwaneri to — Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones. He too was a five-star prospect coming out of high school and played his college ball at Mississippi State.

“Williams Nwaneri is a physically gifted defensive lineman with considerable developmental upside and pass rush ability that reminds us of former five-star Chris Jones at the same stage,” On3’s comparison said. “The size, athleticism and pass rush skills are similar. Jones played more defensive end in high school than Nwaneri.”

Jones wound up being named to the All-SEC freshman team in 2013, something Drinkwitz believes Nwaneri has the opportunity to do. However, at the EDGE position, contributing in your first year can be incredibly difficult. More times than not, players need time for the game to slow down and eventually translate.

But Drinkwitz believes in his assistant coaches to quickly develop Nwaneri into a player capable of playing at the line of scrimmage in the SEC by Aug. 31.