Missouri 'a program with a lot of buzz' around Five-Star Plus+ DL Williams Nwaneri

Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri is just a week away from his expected college commitment, and his recruitment has been one with plenty of twists and turns.

Oklahoma, Tennessee, Oregon, Missouri and Georgia are his final five schools, and each one has had buzz over the past six months or so. In the spring, it was Tennessee and Georgia, according to On3’s Chad Simmons. But that has changed significantly this summer.

“At that time, I felt very confident those were the top two schools,” he said Monday during On3’s Inside Scoop recruiting show. “Now he put some unofficial visits in there this spring, some official visits in June, and we have whole new ballgame with Williams Nwaneri. And now, I think the three schools to watch are Georgia, Missouri and Oklahoma.”

Nwaneri took official visits to each of those programs in the month of June, and also came back to Georgia during the final weekend of the month for a second visit.

Missouri has made a strong push with Nwaneri

Each program has some level on confidence they will land Nwaneri, Simmons adds, and it doesn’t appear he has fully ruled out any of those three that are trending.

“The most confidence throughout this process has been in the Norman area, obviously the University of Oklahoma,” he said. “His high school head coach played there, his high school teammate, Cayden Green, signed there last year. There’s a 2025 D-lineman teammate that committed to Brent Venables earlier this summer. A lot of connections.

… He’s been there more than any other program, but keep an eye on the in-state Missouri Tigers. There’s a lot of buzz around that program right now. And then Georgia got him on campus at the first weekend and the last weekend of June.”

Staying home has major appeal

In addition to being close to his family in the Kansas City area, playing inside the state has a strong appeal to Nwaneri.

The Tigers have made a major effort to recruit the Show-Me State’s top prospect throughout his career, but have ramped things up even further over the summer. In May, the state passed a bill that would allow in-state recruits to begin receiving NIL opportunities as soon as they signed with a school inside the borders, instead of having to wait until they move to campus months later.

“It’s a huge deal for universities when they’re recruiting kids, especially in their home state,” Kansas City-based sports attorney Mit Winter said in May. “Missouri obviously has a lot of talented high school athletes that in the past have gone to other schools. So, Missouri would obviously like to do what they can to keep those athletes in the state of Missouri.”

Oklahoma insider Josh McCuistion, who was interviewed later on the Inside Scoop about Nwaneri, believes the Tigers have put together the strongest NIL package of any program courting the No. 1 player in On3’s rankings.

“I don’t think there’s any question,” McCuistion said of whether the Tigers can be a real competitor with Georgia and Oklahoma for Nwaneri. “The numbers I’ve heard, you understand. Eli Drinkwitz needs a shot in the arm [of this program] and this is perfect, you go land arguably the No. 1 player in the country.”