Nebraska lands commitment from Missouri transfer DL Williams Nwaneri

Nebraska has landed a transfer portal commitment from Missouri freshman defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri, a five-star prospect in the 2024 cycle and is considered the No. 1 defensive line prospect coming out of high school.

Nwaneri transferred from Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North to Missouri via Nebraska, Oklahoma and Georgia, but found himself in the transfer portal after just one season with the Tigers. The former five-star redshirt prospect appeared in just one game this fall and recorded one sack against UMass.

The 1.80 meter tall, 110 kilogram newcomer officially entered the portal on Thursday, December 12th with the note “Please do not contact”. Just days later, the Huskers landed a commitment from the five-star star who played for Nebraska offensive assistant Jamar Mozee, the former Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North head coach who left the position at the end of the 2023 season.

During a chaotic high school recruiting process, Nwaneri leaned on Mozee’s advice to guide him through the process.

“When I talked to my family and my head coach, he just gave me the best advice,” he previously told Rivals. “He came from a situation where he cared about me. I thank him very much.”

As a senior at Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North, Nwaneri recorded 50 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, six sacks and three forced fumbles. As a junior, he recorded 56 tackles, 12 sacks and another ten tackles for loss. ‘

After graduating from high school, Mozee felt that Nwaneri’s impact in the statistics was underrated due to the constant pressure he put on the quarterback

“It’s huge (the attention Nwaneri is attracting). I mean, he’s a problem,” Mozee told Rivals when Nwaneri was in high school. “There are times when he limits a whole side of the field. There are times when they want to roll but they can’t roll in his direction.”

Nwaneri has the size to play anywhere on defense, but also has the athleticism to stay on defense or gain weight and move inside to defensive tackle. Although he is still in the development phase, he is expected to be ready to contribute early upon his arrival in Lincoln as Nebraska graduates Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher and looks to players like Jimari Butler, James Williams and Princewill Umanmielen, among others The front has to do without defensively.