The 2024 recruiting class was full of high-profile defensive line recruiting battles. The Oklahoma Sooners landed their No. 1 target in David Stone, who played for OU during his freshman season in 2024.

One of the recruiting battles they didn’t win was five-star defensive end prospect Williams Nwaneri, who chose the Missouri Tigers. After 38 snaps in 2024, Nwaneri will enter the transfer portal, according to On3.

Lee’s Summit North rated Nwaneri as the No. 1 leading candidate in the 2024 cycle. At one point it looked like the Sooners had an advantage in recruiting Nwaneri, but Missouri was able to make a splash.

The Oklahoma Sooners have good young talent they are working on developing in Adepoju Adebawore, Nigel Smith, Danny Okoye and Wyatt Gilmore. But would they make room for Nwaneri? He has plenty of athleticism, but couldn’t break into Mizzou’s defensive end rotation as a true freshman.

The Sooners will likely just continue to work with their guys, and if they pursue a defensive end in the transfer portal, it will be someone who can really perform at the Power Four level.

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