Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri will be without transfer lineman Bence Polgar because he will be ineligible this season.

The Tigers have appealed, the coach said Monday, but that was denied, and the issue relates to his time at Buffalo, Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Polgar was expected to compete to replace Michael Maietti, who also was another lineman with New Jersey connections as he transferred from Rutgers. Now the competition will be between Connor Tollison, Drake Heismeyer and Richard Taylor as the Tigers look to resolve a position previously held by Maietti, a second-team All-SEC pick, who left for the NFL after last season.

Polgar is a 6-foot-3 and 288-pounder from New Jersey, and he was a member of an offensive line that averaged 410 yards of total offense and 195.5 rushing yards per game. He was listed as a 2-star prospect coming out of high school in the class of 2019.

At SEC Media Days last month, coach Eli Drinkwitz offered these thoughts about the offensive line.

“On offense we return seven players with multiple starts,” he said. “Obviously our offensive line is the most experienced, and extremely proud of what Coach Johnson has developed there. We have got depth at that position, and we’ve got experience. We will have a battle for the center position, but excited about that group leading the offense.”