Mizzou Football Hires Deshon Lawrence Jr. as Director of Player and Recruiting Engagement

Missouri football has hired Deshon Lawrence Jr. as its director of player and recruiting engagement, per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.

According to the job posting on LinkedIn, the position Lawrence was hired as "plays a vital role in supporting the holistic development of student-athletes by fostering personal growth, academic achievement, career readiness, and overall well-being while also aligning recruiting operations, communication strategy, and on-campus experience to deliver a cohesive, high-impact approach to talent acquisition."

Lawrence will be a major player for the Tigers' recruiting efforts. His key responsibilities include but are not limited to player development programming, leadership and character development programs, supporting student-athletes academics and assisting with official and unofficial visits. He will "serve as a lead on-campus point for prospective student-athletes, families and internal stakeholders during visits," per the job description.

Missouri made a few other hires on the recruiting front earlier this offseason, including Coleman Minnis as assistant director of player personnel, and Corayln Caldwell as assistant director of football recruiting.

Lawrence, the newest hire, most recently spent time at UCF, where he served as the Senior Director of Player Development, Pro Liason and Internal Operations. According to his UCF bio, he served as the "primary liason between football staff, academic services, university housing, and compliance for student-athletes, while also guiding football student-athletes through financial processes and academic participation.

Before his time at UCF, Lawrence was with the Cam Newton Foundation from 2012-2021, serving as the Director of Operations and Player Personnel. He both. managed player scouting and negotiated contracts for the organizations sponsorship.

Perhaps his previous experience in contract negotiation could come in to play at Missouri, as one of the tasks on the job opening is listed as "Career readiness and NIL education."

Lawrence has previously worked with head coach Eli Drinkwitz, serving as a defensive graduate assistant in 2012 at Arkansas State — Drinkwitz was the running backs coach at the time. The pair now reunite for the first time in over a decade at Missouri.

Before Lawrence's time with the Red Wolves, he worked as a student assistant cornerbacks coach for Western Michigan, and spending the 2007-2009 seasons as a player for the Western Michigan roster, logging an interception and appearing in all 12 games in the 2009 season. His other experience on the gridiron includes coaching defensive backs, special teams and the junior varsity team at Banneker High School.

Missouri has already earned the commitments of 2027 recruits Braylen Warren, Jack Brown, Jabarri Lofton, Chris Harris Jr., Lual Aleu and Dane Olmstead. Lawrence will now play a role in expanding that class.

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