This time last year, Henry Fenuku went into Ray Gates' office and asked what he needed to do to be one of the top players in the state.

Fenuku, who had three offers to his name at the time, just wrapped up his junior season at Fort Worth (Tex.) North Crowley. A native of Ghana, in his fifth year at a school in the United States, he realized he wanted a future in football.

Meeting with Gates after practice one day, Fenuku watched film of five of the top Class of 2025 offensive linemen in Texas. The offensive guard noted the linemen playing violently and finishing more blocks.

"I said, 'Athletically, you check all the boxes,'" said Gates, the North Crowley coach. "He said, 'Okay.' And it was like a light went off, and from that point on, he started whooping a whole bunch of ass."

Growing up in Africa, Fenuku played soccer. He's fairly new to football, starting his true development in the sport as a high school freshman in 2021.

"His development from the time that I've been here to now, it's been astronomical," Gates said. "You don't find a lot of guys like him."

Growing to 6-foot-3, 295 pounds, Fenuku always had a size advantage over his peers. He played sports with a physical nature that sparked a reminder to be careful with the smaller athletes.

Fenuku is soft spoken, but on game days, he flips a switch. This approach bled into his teammates, contributing to multiple successful seasons, including a current 13-0 record in his final year at North Crowley.

"He loves the game of football," Gates said. "It's hard to pull him back at times because he's just so amped up and just ready to compete at the highest level."

Initially, Fenuku wasn't going to visit Missouri, the program he signed with Wednesday.

The Class of 2025 lineman was burnt out by the recruiting process in June, taking recent visits to Georgia, Ohio State and Texas Tech. But Missouri carved out a spot for him to take an official visit in June, and North Crowley offensive coordinator Eli Reinhart told Fenuku he was going.

That Monday after the visit, Gates' phone started buzzing. He received a message, saying "Did you see Henry?"

"'He did what?'" Gates recounted emphatically.

Fenuku verbally committed to Missouri, which was a decision he and Gates agreed not to do until the two wrote down all the pros and cons of the schools interested in him. When Gates saw Fenuku on Monday, he asked his player why he committed without talking to him first.

"The first thing that came out of his mouth was 'Coach Jones,'" Gates said.

Missouri offensive line coach Brandon Jones is a close friend of Gates. While on staff at Houston, Jones coached Gate's cousin and recruited linemen at Cedar Hill (Tex.) High, the school Gates left in 2022 to become the head coach at North Crowley.

Even with his connection to Jones, Gates was surprised by Fenuku's commitment to Missouri. Fenuku, a four-star offensive guard, took an official visit to see the Tigers the weekend of June 7 and pledged to the program a few days later.

Fenuku felt comfortable with Jones. He related to him and saw an opportunity to develop as a player and person under his guidance.

"There in Missouri, they have, I think, four guys that are from his native homeland, from Africa," Gates added. "I think for him that was a piece of home, being around a unit that understands each other."

Fenuku, who will enroll in the summer, is nimble, quick and athletic for his size. He's projected to play in the interior for the Tigers at either guard or center.

"I hate that I don't get an opportunity to coach him again next year," Gates said. "But he's going on to bigger and better things."