Auburn senior wide receiver Montez Billings will miss the first four games of the season because of an academic issue, the school announced Thursday.

Billings, who sat out last spring, graduated in May but had an undisclosed NCAA-related academic issue he had to satisfy. Head coach Gene Chizik recently said the issue was in “somebody else’s” hands.

“This is unfortunate for Montez, but we’ve exhausted all avenues to get him on the field as soon as possible,” Auburn senior associate athletics director Rich McGlynn said. “While we don’t necessarily agree with the NCAA’s ruling, we have to respect and abide by their decision.”

Billings is the Tigers’ leading returning receiver. He caught 24 passes for 277 yards last season. He has 55 career catches for 645 yards and one touchdown.

Check back for more tonight after we do interviews.