COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri freshman defensive end Williams Nwaneri has been named to the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year watch list, the Maxwell Football Club announced on Thursday.
The award, which is in its seventh year, is presented to the outstanding freshman player in college football. Once again, this year, the award will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club Awards event along with several of the other top awards in college and professional football. The event will be held on Friday, March 14, 2025 and hosted by the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.
A consensus five-star prospect ranked fifth on ESPN.com‘s top 300 recruits list, Nwaneri hails from Kansas City, Missouri, and is listed as the No. 1 prospect out of the state and top edge rusher in the country by all recruiting platforms. Additionally, he was rated the No. 2 recruit in the nation by On3.com and the No. 3 prospect by Rivals.com. The three-year varsity starter led the Lee’s Summit North Broncos to a 33-5 record, a state-semifinal appearance in 2021 and a state championship appearance in 2022. Nwaneri amassed 149 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 23 sacks during his prep career and accumulated 50 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and six sacks as a senior.
The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the University of Alabama and the 2005 NFL MVP with the Seattle Seahawks. Past winners include Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) – 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis) – 2019, Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) – 2020, Brock Bowers (Georgia) – 2021, Drake Maye (North Carolina) – 2022 and Caleb Downs (Alabama) – 2023.
Mizzou’s 2024 season opener is slated for Thursday, August 29 when it welcomes Murray State to Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium for an 7 p.m. kickoff.
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