Mizzou football adds sixth 2023 recruit: Nicholas DeLoach Jr., Illinois track star

Missouri Tigers football coach Eliah Drinkwitz picked up another recruit Sunday, adding Illinois track star Nicholas DeLoach Jr. as the program’s sixth Class of 2023 player.

DeLoach, who hails from Cahokia, Illinois, announced his commitment to the Tigers Sunday afternoon after he visited Columbia earlier this weekend.

A three-sport athlete who won the Illinois 2A triple jump state title as a junior and also wrestles, DeLoach played both sides of the ball as a wide receiver and defensive back. He also placed second in the long jump and third in the high jump at the Illinois state championship on May 29.

DeLoach told the St. Louis Dispatch that the Mizzou coaching staff is recruiting him as a defensive back.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, the East St. Louis standout is unranked and currently holds three other offers from Illinois State, Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa.

He was offered by Mizzou on June 17 after playing in a 7-on-7 tournament that weekend in Missouri.

DeLoach is the second defensive recruit of Drinkwitz’s 2023 class, joining three-star defensive end Jahkai Lang of Troy Buchanan High School.