We're less than two weeks removed from Nwaneri's commitment to Missouri, but I've said it already and I'll continue to say it: there is a tangible belief on both the OU side and the LSN side that the Sooners will turn the tables in the long run. I don't want to drive the optimism too high too soon, but let's just wait and see if Nwaneri is back in Norman at any point over the next couple of months. There are a myriad of ways to explain away the Oklahoma gloves, but it's not an insignificant thing, and conversations with a few well-placed sources on both sides have me sticking to my gut feeling on this one. I truly do believe Norman is where Nwaneri wants to be. The biggest question is whether the Sooner staff can get his whole family 100 percent sold on everything that OU can offer, and in that respect, this recruitment bears some definite parallels to that of Peyton Bowen. For me, the biggest X-factor in this ordeal might be the momentum that OU accumulates over the next 6-8 weeks, both on the recruiting trail and the gridiron. If the Sooners start the 2023 season hot and close out Nigel Smith, the noise is going to start to grow louder. Naturally, it becomes a lot harder for a five-star DE like Nwaneri to say no to Oklahoma if the Sooners are firing on all cylinders (again, on both the trail and the field) by this time next month. Getting David Stone on board is a pretty huge step, and having Moore in such close proximity to Nwaneri on a daily basis helps too.
I'm sure this is a topic we will discuss in much greater detail in the days and weeks ahead, so I'm not going to write you a thesis on the whole deal. I'll just sum it up with this: I could have easily flipped my prediction to Missouri in the minutes leading up to Nwaneri's announcement. There are a number of reasons why I didn't, but the main reason is because I do not believe the final verdict in this recruitment was rendered on August 14. A number of the conversations I had last night validate that belief. There is reason behind my opinion here. Now, as with Bowen, I'm not making any promises. I can't make any promises. But we're 116 days from ESD. As one source on the OU side remarked on the day of the decision, "Chavis will visit KC as many times as allowed." And as another source on the LSN side put it to me last night, "I do think persistence is going to win out."
I'm sure this is a topic we will discuss in much greater detail in the days and weeks ahead, so I'm not going to write you a thesis on the whole deal. I'll just sum it up with this: I could have easily flipped my prediction to Missouri in the minutes leading up to Nwaneri's announcement. There are a number of reasons why I didn't, but the main reason is because I do not believe the final verdict in this recruitment was rendered on August 14. A number of the conversations I had last night validate that belief. There is reason behind my opinion here. Now, as with Bowen, I'm not making any promises. I can't make any promises. But we're 116 days from ESD. As one source on the OU side remarked on the day of the decision, "Chavis will visit KC as many times as allowed." And as another source on the LSN side put it to me last night, "I do think persistence is going to win out."
