Coveted DL Williams Nwaneri now a Five-Star Plus+ recruit

At this time a year, Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri was a household name around the Midwest and was just blossoming into a national recruit.

After strong performances at a number of offseason camps, Nwaneri shot up recruiting boards — and recruiting rankings. In February, On3 was the first to tab him as a five-star prospect, moving all the way up to No. 2 nationally in the On300 rankings.

And other services have begun to take notice as well. On Tuesday, Nwaneri earned Five-Star Plus+ status, signifying that he is rated a five-star recruit by all four major recruiting services: On3, 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.

The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder is now one of six Five-Star Plus+ prospects in the 2024 cycle, joining Georgia quarterback commit Dylan Raiola, Ohio State wide receiver commit Jeremiah Smith, EDGE Colin Simmons, wide receiver Micah Hudson and safety KJ Bolden.

Nwaneri now ranks as the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

‘Williams Nwaneri is the most physically-gifted defensive line prospect early on in the 2024 cycle,” On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power writes. “He has an elite frame, measuring in at over 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot wing-span and an 11-inch hand. Moves very well for his size. He clocked a sub-5.0-second electronically-timed 40-yard dash prior to his junior season and also shows fluidity with change of direction in the camp setting.

… He flashed some of his high-end potential as a sophomore, showing the ability to create disruption from multiple spots on the defensive line and has the range and athleticism to run down skill players from behind. Still developing in terms of technical skill at the position but has immense upside and capacity for improvement. Could project to a number of spots along the defensive front, but looks to be a defensive lineman long-term given his frame and potential to add substantial mass.”

Nwaneri has racked up 99 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 31 hurries and 17 tackles for a loss over his sophomore and junior seasons.

Nwaneri coming off Oklahoma visit, will see Tennessee this weekend

After taking a number of visits over the past few months as he looked to narrow down his list, Nwaneri locked in five official visits: Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Oregon and Missouri. The Bulldogs and Sooners hosted him the past two weekends. Tennessee will get its shot in a few days and home-state Missouri will bring him to town the following weekend.

Oregon, meanwhile, is scheduled to get a visit this fall. Though Nwaneri has previously said he’d like to commit before his senior season. Oklahoma stands as the favorite to land him, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). But Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons says the Sooners are in the midst of a three-team battle.

“After a weekend at Georgia, Williams Nwaneri was back at Oklahoma over the weekend,” Simmons said Tuesday. “The Sooners have always been a top school for Nwaneri and things haven’t changed. He probably has the best relationships in Norman, but will that be enough? Georgia is in this now, and Tennessee had some momentum earlier this spring. He will be in Knoxville this weekend.”