KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Lee's Summit North football team has one of the top prospects in the class of 2024, but the team is focused on being No. 1 in the state.
"He's what — 6 (feet) 5 9inches), 265 (pounds) — he does have 11-inch hands, his hands are almost as long as a ruler, he's got an 84-inch wing span, so he's pretty much built like LeBron James," said Jamar Mozee, Lee's Summit North head football coach.
Mozee is talking about Williams Nwaneri, Lee's Summit North's defensive end who just committed to the University of Missouri.
"He better dominate, right?" Mozee said. "Just be honest about that. We've got the best player, one of the best players in all of the land, so he needs to do exactly that."
Having made his decision, Nwaneri can focus on his senior season.
"We're trying to go win a state championship, so I'm going to need all my focus on that," Nwaneri said.
You can't get much closer to winning it all than the Broncos did last season, falling short in overtime against Christian Brothers College High School in the Missouri Class 6 state championship game.
"Shoot, it hurt at lot, so looking forward I want to get back to that game and win it, so I'm ready for this year," said Isaiah Mozee, Lee's Summit North wide receiver.
Last season's loss is motivating this year's team.
"Everything we do drives just that, and you don't have to motivate too much because it's in the back of their head all the time," Jamar Mozee said.
Aside from a stacked roster, Lee's Summit North feels they have the edge.
"They know what it takes, right?" Jamar Mozee said. "What does it take to get to a state title? You can't answer that unless you've done it, and so they can answer that question and now they want to answer the fact that what does it take to win it."
A state title's in the back of their heads, but Liberty North is top of mind. The Broncos host the Eagles on Friday to open the season.
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