In the World of Transfers, Nebraska Defensive End Williams Nwaneri Might be Huskers’ Most Impactful

Transfers in college football have taken on an increased and relevant role in roster building. Teams plug holes with transfers, and upgrade beyond what recruiting can do by itself.

Every school does it. Thus, acquiring transfers becomes another competitive battle of a college football program, another area in which one team can outperform another. And with the extra opportunity comes the opening to improve the program. And the chance to land players who are older and, in theory, more mature than they were coming out of high school.

For Nebraska, two transfers along the offensive line — Rocco Spindler, from Notre Dame, and Elijah Pritchett, from Alabama — garnered attention for helping rebuild a potential weak spot. Head coach Matt Rhule splashed some cold water on that last week when he said Pritchett is “an unbelievably talented player, but a lot of false starts and a lot of mistakes.”

Pritchett was listed third on the latest depth chart among three possible starters at left tackle for Thursday's game against Cincinnati at Kansas City.

Wide receiver transfers Dane Key (Kentucky) and Nyziah Hunter (California) are expected to give sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola experienced and talented targets.

Interesting that with so much talent and firepower, The Athletic would choose a defensive player as Nebraska’s “most important transfer portal addition” for 2025.

Williams Nwaneri making an impact

Defensive end Williams Nwaneri, who has drawn comparisons to KC Chiefs All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones, could be a much-needed addition to a Nebraska position group that lost Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher after last season.

Manny Navarro of The Athletic wrote about Nwaneri, a 6-foot-7, 265-pound redshirt freshman: “Matt Rhule brought in four full-time starters from other Power 4 teams to both protect and provide downfield targets for former five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola.

Williams Nwaneri is listed as Nebraska's starting defensive end for the season-opening game against Cincinnati. | Nebraska Athletics

“But the most impactful newcomer might end up being Nwaneri, the No. 8 overall prospect in the Class of 2024 who still has four years of eligibility remaining.”

On Matt Rhule’s “Sports Nightly” coaches show last week, he was asked what position group he was most excited to see. He mentioned the defensive line.

“Anxious to see these guys who have waited their turn get their shot,” Rhule said. “I think that group’s going to grow as the year moves on. I think they’re going to get better and better and better every week.”

Nwaneri’s Nebraska connection

Nwaneri transferred from Missouri, where he played four games and had two tackles. He is from Lee’s Summit North High in Missouri where he was coached by current Huskers senior offensive assistant coach Jamar Mozee.

Nwaneri was highly, highly regarded coming out of high school, with Rivals ranking him as the No. 1 edge rusher and the No. 8 overall recruit in the 2024 class. Before he chose Missouri, his finalists reportedly were Oklahoma, Missouri, Oregon, Georgia and Tennessee.

Not Nebraska.

BREAKING: Five-Star Plus+ DL Williams Nwaneri tells me he will announce his Commitment on August 14th!

The No. 1 Player in the ‘24 Class will choose between Oklahoma, Missouri, Oregon, Georgia, & Tennessee

Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/7z7KTHMEgh pic.twitter.com/WV3Nyv3lHj
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) August 3, 2023

Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler said this about Nwaneri earlier this month: “All the accolades that Will has received previously to coming to Nebraska are warranted,” Butler said. “And I think that if he keeps heading in the right direction, we’re going to be excited about what Will continues to be, not what he is now.”

In Nebraska’s recently released depth chart going into Thursday night’s season-opening game against Cincinnati, Nwaneri was listed as a possible co-starter at defensive end with Cam Lenhardt. On Monday, Lenhardt received one of the 10 prestigious Blackshirts given to defensive players. Nwaneri was not one of the 10. We'll see how that affects Nwaneri's playing time and how quickly he become acclimated to the Huskers' system.

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