In what can only be described as game-changing, Oklahoma missed on its most significant recruiting prospect in a long time as five-star defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri committed to Missouri on Monday afternoon.
Chronicling the nature of this recruitment is likely a story for another day. Still, Oklahoma entered the final rounds for one of the nation’s most elite defenders. Ultimately, the Sooners couldn’t overcome Missouri’s hometown advantage. Nwaneri picked Missouri over Oklahoma, Georgia and Tennessee.
Missouri’s pitch to Nwaneri was simple. They are the in-state school with the added proximity bonus and NIL opportunities that Nwaneri could capitalize on before stepping foot on campus. He would be revered as a hero forever for being a high-profile prospect who decided to stay home and play for the Missouri Tigers.
Oklahoma’s advantages or connection with Nwaneri stem from his relationship with the coaching staff. There is a strong bond between Nwaneri and defensive coaches Miguel Chavis and Todd Bates.
Oklahoma has been building a pipeline to Lee’s Summit North (Nwaneri’s high school). Lee’s Summit North produced true freshman offensive tackle Cayden Green and 2025 nose tackle Ka’Mori Moore commit, both teammates of Nwaneri’s. The Sooners are also pursuing current teammate and 2025 four-star receiver Isaiah Mozee. Mozee is an Oklahoma legacy by way of his father and the head coach at Lee’s Summit North, Jamar Mozee. The elder Mozee played at OU when Brent Venables was at Oklahoma as a defensive coordinator.
It’s been tough for Oklahoma to land five-star defensive linemen consistently. While last year saw them land Adepoju Adebawore, the hit rate for Oklahoma in these five-star defensive line recruitments is hardly something to be proud of.
Even with the commitment to Missouri, Oklahoma will continue to pursue Nwaneri until the No. 1 player in the On3 rankings officially signs his national letter of intent. So the potential for his recruitment turning in Oklahoma’s favor remains until signing day. We saw last year how that worked out for Oklahoma for former five-star safety Peyton Bowen.
In the immediate future, Oklahoma turns its attention to the decisions of five-star defensive tackle [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] (Aug. 26), five-star defensive lineman [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag] (Sept. 1) and four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Nigel Smith[/autotag] (Sept. 8). Oklahoma has more than a puncher’s chance to land at least two out of the three. If Oklahoma can land at least two, it still would be one of the better defensive line hauls in recent Sooners history.
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