University of Missouri football player in need of heart transplant, coach says

An 18-year-old beginning his college football career at the University of Missouri is now on the waiting list for a heart transplant, according to Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz.

The player, offensive tackle Johnnie "DJ" Jones, is currently hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville while he waits for a new heart to become available, according to Drinkwitz.

"It's just hard. [He's] an 18-year-old with everything in front of him," Drinkwitz said Tuesday. "And you're just not prepared for that kind of news. Our team wasn't prepared for that kind of news."

He continued, "We're praying for him, and I know a lot of Mizzou fans will hopefully join in that prayer because he does need help in a hurry."

Drinkwitz did not share further details of Jones' diagnosis.

He said Jones' heart issue was discovered this summer when Jones came from Florida, where he graduated high school, to Missouri to begin training with the Tigers and underwent health tests.

After discovering a heart issue, the Missouri medical team sent Jones to Mayo Clinic for a second opinion, where doctors discovered a "much more significant issue," according to Drinkwitz.

He said he and the team learned last week that Jones would need to undergo a heart transplant.

"He's in Mayo, and it's tough right now," Drinkwitz said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as they go through this."

ABC News has reached out to the Missouri athletic department for further details.

Jones was a top high school recruit out of Venice High School, which made it to the state semifinals in 2025.

Across the country, more than 109,000 adults and children are on the national transplant waiting list, according to the U.S. government's database.