Tennessee Vols in the mix to land elite 2024 five-star defensive lineman
The Tennessee Vols are one of several teams in the mix to land 2024 five-star defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri. Nwaneri told On3 recently that Tennessee is standing out to him early, along with Michigan State, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Oregon. The talented defensive lineman is set to visit UT this weekend to get a better look at the Vols. “It […]
The Tennessee Vols are one of several teams in the mix to land 2024 five-star defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri.
Nwaneri told On3 recently that Tennessee is standing out to him early, along with Michigan State, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Oregon.
The talented defensive lineman is set to visit UT this weekend to get a better look at the Vols.
“It was a really good season they had and I feel like they’ve made a statement with the season,” said Nwaneri to On3. “I really just need to get down there and get a feel for it for myself, see how I like it, see how I feel meeting everybody in person.”
Nwaneri, 6-foot-5/245 lbs from Lees Summitt, MO, is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 defensive lineman in the nation and the No. 1 player in the state of Missouri. He's also rated as the No. 3 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.
Landing Nwaneri won't be easy for Tennessee, though it sounds like they're going to try hard to bring the elite recruit to Rocky Top.
Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney pointed out last month that the Vols are showing Nwaneri a lot of love, but I'm sure Tennessee isn't the only program in that same category.
One thing that could work in the Vols' favor is that Josh Heupel has some recruiting connections in the state of Missouri after spending two seasons as the Tigers' offensive coordinator. Several of the Vols' offensive coaches (offensive line coach Glenn Elarbee and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle) were also with Heupel at Mizzou.
It also doesn't hurt that Tennessee has Rodney Garner, perhaps the best defensive line coach in college football.
The Vols will have a legitimate shot to land Nwaneri, but it's going to take a strong recruiting effort from the entire staff.
Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
