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Missouri losing 5-star freshman to transfer portal, per report
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Missouri is reportedly losing one of its highest-rated signees in recent history to the transfer portal after just one season with the Tigers.
According to various reports, 5-star freshman and edge prospect Williams Nwaneri is entering the portal after his true freshman season. Nwaneri appeared in 4 regular season games to preserve his redshirt and will have 4 seasons of eligibility remaining.
Coming out of high school, the 6-foot-6 and 260-pound Nwaneri was a 5-star recruit and top-10 prospect nationally per the 247 Sports Composite. He was the top-rated defensive lineman in the country and the top in-state player for Missouri in the 2024 recruiting class and a major win for head coach Eli Drinkwitz.
Nwaneri made his Missouri debut in the season opener vs. Murray State. He would register his first sack and 2 total tackles in the game against UMass but would not record any other stats during the year.
While Nwaneri did not produce a major impact out of the gate, he was certainly a prize recruit with elite potential. The loss is not an insignificant one, and it will be interesting to watch how he develops at a new destination if he does indeed leave the Tigers via the portal.
Some of the programs that received an official visit from Nwaneri in high school include Oregon, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Georgia, so a move within the SEC is certainly not out of the realm of possibility for Nwaneri.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
