Missouri football lands Illinois State wide receiver Xavier Loyd

Mizzou has landed some depth at wide receiver.

According to a report from Matt Zenitz of 247Sports on Saturday, Mizzou has secured a commitment from Illinois State wide receiver Xavier Loyd out of the transfer portal. 

Loyd, who hails from Blue Springs, Missouri, seemingly drew interest from a wide pool of Power-conference schools after entering his name into the portal. But, the wideout is making the move back to his home state after reportedly just taking one visit, which was to Mizzou. He appears to have one remaining year of eligibility.

The 6-foot-2 wide receiver originally walked on to Kansas State as an unranked prospect out of Blue Springs High in 2021, but he saw limited playing time over the course of three seasons in Manhattan. 

Loyd made the move to the FCS level last year and caught 66 passes for 912 yards and six touchdowns during his time in Normal, Illinois. He averaged 76.1 receiving yards per game with the Redbirds.

Mizzou was expected to add some productive depth at wide receiver in the spring portal window, and Loyd fits that bill. 

He is unlikely to be a starter, which wasn’t what the Tigers were expected to chase this spring, but he certainly could crack the rotation. He is the second player to commit to Mizzou out of the transfer portal this spring, following Iowa tight end and Leawood, Kansas, native Gavin Hoffman.

More: Missouri football lands first commitment of spring transfer portal window with Iowa tight end

In a wide receiver room that lost all three of its starters to either the NFL Draft or eligibility, Mizzou has Mississippi State transfer Kevin Coleman II expected to take over starting duties in the slot position. Key returners Joshua Manning and Marquis Johnson appear likely to take on the other two starting roles.

With several graduating players, depth was somewhat of a concern. The…

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Publish date : 2025-04-19 16:59:00

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