Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday that freshman offensive lineman Johnnie “DJ” Jones is facing a serious health battle and is currently in need of a heart transplant.
Drinkwitz said Jones is at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and has been placed on the transplant list. He described how the issue surfaced during the team’s freshman intake this summer, when staff found a heart problem and continued looking for answers.
“Johnnie Jones. DJ was here this summer.
When we do our freshman intake, we discovered a heart issue,” Drinkwitz told reporters, per Cody Goodwin of 247Sports. “We observed him for two weeks and felt like we were getting the information we needed, so we asked for a second opinion.
We weren’t getting the resolution that we wanted. Our medical team said, ‘Let’s go get more eyes and ears.’
We sent him to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and discovered a more significant issue.
“Last week, we found out that Johnnie is now on a heart transplant list. He’s at Mayo.
It’s tough right now. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as he goes through this.
It’s hard, an 18-year-old with everything in front of him. Our team wasn’t prepared for that kind of news.
We’re praying for him. I hope Mizzou fans will join us in praying for him.
He needs help. Fast.
We’re pulling for you, buddy.”
Jones came to Missouri out of Venice (Florida) High School as a 4-star recruit. He chose Mizzou over 32 other scholarship offers, including Florida State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Colorado.
The news came after Missouri moved to 4-1 this season with a homecoming win over then-No. 8 Florida on Faurot Field.
The No. 14 Tigers are back in action Saturday against Texas A&M.
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