Tennessee Official Visitor Capsule: Williams Nwaneri

2024 five-star defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri has an upcoming visit to Knoxville to see the Tennessee Volunteers.
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Williams Nwaneri is a top-tier prospect, as can't miss as they come, especially for a program on the rise like Josh Heupel's Tennessee Volunteers. This coming weekend, Nwaneri heads down to Knoxville for an official visit to check out the program's facilities, coaches, and overall state that has been gunning hard for him to join. The Vols and schools like Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, and Oregon are in the mix. Oklahoma and Tennessee are the primary suitors, with Georgia and Missouri creeping in the background.

The freak athlete comes in at 6-5 and 250 pounds with a wild combination of speed, strength, burst, and athleticism. Nwaneri hails from Lees Summit, Missouri, which is the primary reason that Mizzou is in the hunt, assumedly. Williams is the No. 1 defensive lineman in his class, for good reason. If he decides to don Orange, he would be the Vols' biggest recruit, not named Nico Iamaleava, in a long time. Athletically, Nwaneri broke out in a big way as a junior, cruising to 12 sacks on the year to follow up a promising sophomore campaign where he had five. In the two seasons he has seen action, the Missouri native has compiled 31 quarterback hurries and 99 total tackles. Nwaneri's other official visits have included Georgia and Missouri, with an upcoming one to Oklahoma, then a September visit to Oregon.

Prospect: Williams Nwaneri

Projected Position: Strongside DE

Vitals: 6-5 and 250 pounds

School: Lees Summit North (Lees Summit, MO)

Frame: An uncanny combo of speed, legit size, length, and testing data that is impressive for a player of both his build and age. Rare ability to change direction and possesses crazy agility at his massive size. Has a nose for the football and is seemingly always in on the play.

Athleticism: Versatile along the line, can play both interior and on the edge, with 3-4 Defensive End seemingly being his future. Pro comparison has most commonly been Kansas City's Chris Jones.

Bottom Line: Would be a historically big get for Heupel and the Vols. With all of the offense seemingly figured out, at least system-wise, the next step is to create a culture on the opposite side of the football. A prospect like Williams Nwaneri makes that much more accomplishable.

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Brady Penn
BRADY PENN

Brady Penn is a writer who has spent multiple years covering sports for multiple publications. Starting with "The Clarion", Brevard College's school publication, where he won an award for Sportswriting from the North Carolina Collegiate Media Association. Brady continues his work with The Clarion, as well as writing for SI's Volunteer Country and writing Braves pieces for SportsTalkATL.com. Brady is a rising Senior at Brevard, where he plays Football and does Play-by-Play broadcasting for BC Baseball, Men's/Women's Basketball and Softball.