A college football star has been placed on the heart transplant list after a shocking health discovery when he arrived on campus.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz was teary-eyed as he revealed Tuesday that offensive lineman Johnnie Jones is facing a 'much more significant issue' than initially feared.

The freshman arrived on campus in Columbia, Missouri over the summer where a heart issue was discovered during his summer check-in.

After monitoring his health for two weeks and not getting 'the resolution we wanted', he was sent for a second opinion in Florida, his home state, where he received devastating news with Drinkwitz admitting Jones 'needs help in a hurry'.

The Tigers beat Florida in a big win in Week 5 and Drinkwitz made reference to Jones in his postgame interview but did not elaborate on why he was not with the team.

At Tuesday's press conference he emotionally revealed: 'Johnnie Jones, DJ, was here this summer. When we do our freshman intake, we discovered a heart issue. 

'We observed him for two weeks and felt like we were getting the information we needed, so we asked for a second opinion. We weren't getting the resolution that we wanted. Our medical team said let's go get more eyes and ears.

'And so we sent him to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and discovered a much more significant issue.

 'And last week, we found out that Johnnie's now on a heart transplant list. And he's in Mayo, and it's tough right now. And our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as they go through this. 

'I know Johnnie was watching our game and it's just hard. An 18-year-old with everything in front of him and you're just not prepared for that kind of news. Our team wasn't prepared for that kind of news.'

Jones, who is listed by Missouri as 6ft 6in and 315lbs, was a four-star recruit out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida after transferring from Venice High School.

He flipped his commitment to Mizzou from UCLA and was ranked the No.9 offensive tackle in the nation, No.17 prospect in Florida and No.122 recruit in the country by 247Sports Composite. 

He also received offers from the likes of Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida and Florida State among others before enrolling at Mizzou. 

Despite the heartbreaking situation involving their teammate, the Tigers are 4-1 after beating Florida 45-17 at the weekend and moving up to 14 in the AP Rankings before hosting Texas A&M on Saturday.