Mizzou football player undergoes successful heart transplant surgery, coach says
Johnnie "DJ" Jones is an 18-year-old offensive tackle for the Missouri Tigers.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An 18-year-old college football player has undergone a heart transplant just a day after his coach made a public plea about his health.
Johnnie "DJ" Jones, an offensive lineman for the University of Missouri, underwent a successful heart transplant Wednesday night, Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz announced Thursday in a post on social media.
"We are incredibly grateful for the medical team who cared for DJ and for the donor and donor family whose extraordinary gift made this possible," Drinkwitz wrote on X. "Please continue to keep DJ, his family, the donor family, and his caregivers in your prayers as he begins the recovery process."
Jones, 18, a highly recruited player out of Florida, was diagnosed with a heart condition over the summer when he began training with the Tigers and underwent health tests at the school.
He had been hospitalized at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville while waiting for a heart to become available, according to Drinkwitz, who spoke publicly about Jones' condition for the first time on Tuesday.
"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."
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He continued, "We're praying for him, and I know a lot of Mizzou fans will hopefully join in that prayer becausehe does need help in a hurry."
Drinkwitz did not share further details of Jones' diagnosis. He said he learned last week that Jones would need a heart transplant.
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.
