Mizzou freshman lands on preseason award watchlist
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou football team announced that defensive end Williams Nwaneri has been named to the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year watch list, on Wednesday.
The award is given out the most outstanding freshman player, at any position, in college football. The award will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club Awards, which will be held on Friday, March 14, 2025 in Atlanta.
Nwaneri came to Columbia as a consensus five-star prospect, ranking fifth on ESPN's top-300 recruits. The Kansas City native was listed as the No. 1 prospect in the entire state of Missouri and the bests edge rusher in the entire nation, when head coach Eli Drinkwitz picked up his commitment.
As a three-year varsity starter at Lee's Summit North, Nwaneri helped lead the Broncos to a 33-5 record, a state semifinal appearance and a state championship appearance. His high school stats were staggering, as he tallied 149 total tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 23 sacks.
Nwaneri will look to join the ranks of Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, Memphis' Kenneth Gainwell, Alabama's Will Anderson, Georgia's Brock Bowers, North Carolina's Drake Maye and Alabama's Caleb Downs in players to win the seventh-annual award.
