Five-star defensive end Williams Nwaneri committed to the Missouri Tigers on Monday afternoon, cementing himself as one of the top-ranked Mizzou recruits of all time.

The 6-foot-6, 260 pound defender selected the Tigers over the Oklahoma Sooners and national champion Georgia Bulldogs. Brent Venables and Oklahoma were rumored to be leading the recruitment for a long time, but Mizzou recently overtook them in the last week and emerged victorious in the sweepstakes.

Nwaneri is ranked as the No. 1 defensive end recruit in the country in 2024, and No. 3 player nationally. The star cited a strong relationship with head coach Eli Drinkwitz and defensive line coach Kevin Peoples as part of the reason for his decision, per Blake Baumgartner of ESPN.

“I'd say really ever since they started recruiting me, I feel like it's been consistent,” Nwaneri said. “But I have a good relationship with the coaching staff and I feel like it's somewhere I could go and be successful as a student and as an athlete.”

The “Show Me” state has had a myriad of talent that Mizzou has struggled to hold on to for decades, and the coaching staff is making a point to corral them after grabbing five-star WR Luther Burden out of St. Louis last year. When asked about how important it was to stay local, Nwaneri took the responsibility very seriously.

“It's my home state,” the Kansas City native said. “It's like me being a hometown hero, so it's a pretty big deal to me.”

Nwaneri joins a top-50 recruiting class as the best ranked athlete, and will accompany four-star signees LB Brian Huff and WR James Madison II. He thinks that his addition to the class will give Mizzou a major boost going forward, and lead to a lot of future additions for Drinkwitz and his staff.

“I think this changes the class completely,” Nwaneri said. “I feel like I'm going to have a lot of [people notice]. It's going to give them a little bit of momentum. Recruits are going to see it and I feel like it's going to probably be very, very good for the class.”

The Tigers will open their 2023 campaign on August 31 against South Dakota, and Nwaneri and his fellow commits will have their eye on Faurot Field as they get ready to join the program next season.