In Missouri’s 34-10 win over Arkansas last week, junior running back Ahmad Hardy — the Southeastern Conference’s 2025 rushing leader — took the field for the first time this season. To do so, he had to overcome something unimaginable.
Just six months ago, Hardy was the victim of a shooting at a concert in Mississippi, sustaining a gunshot wound to his leg and undergoing surgery, as Mizzou Football released in May 2026.
“We will continue to stand beside him and his family in this difficult time, offering our love, prayers, strength and support,” the statement said. “A timeline for his return to football activities is unknown at this time.”
Fast forward to Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s Oct. 27 press conference ahead of the Arkansas matchup, where Drinkwitz, while leaving Hardy’s eventual return to game action up in the air, revealed that the running back had returned to practice as a full participant.
Drinkwitz explained during that press conference the complexity of the situation Missouri was navigating with Hardy, saying his recovery was expectedly “a lot more challenging” than the hamstring or ACL injuries that are much more common.
“The invasive nature of the recovery based off of the bullet entry and the surgery that occurred, there’s a lot of things there that have to go right continuously for him to be able to return to play football at a high level,” Drinkwitz said. “You’re having to monitor all that, from the bone healing, to the wound, to how does his body respond to having a rod placed into his femur. There’s a lot of different things there. There’s not (an) X-ray that tells you all he’s ready to go.”
Yet, days later, the team decided Hardy was ultimately game-ready. In Fayetteville, Arkansas, near the end of the first quarter, he got consecutive carries for a total of five yards that allowed the Tigers to move the chains on third down as they eventually extended their lead.
Drinkwitz stated how proud he was of Hardy, especially being able to enter the game and get the Tigers a “big first down.” Hardy added postgame last Saturday, via KMOV’s Tamar Sher, that he didn’t expect to receive those two carries, thinking he would be used as a decoy, but he was happy to be back out there alongside his teammates.
“It was back like old times,” Hardy said about returning to game action. “It wasn’t that hard. I did it before.”
Now, as the Tigers have turned their attention to an important showdown with Texas, they have also continued the process of getting Hardy further involved. For context, after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe, Hardy totaled the second-most rushing yards nationally last season, earning consensus All-America honors. Before his injury occurred, he was consistently ranked as one of the top returning running backs in college football.
But then with Hardy absent, senior running back Jamal Roberts — who averaged over six yards per attempt across 124 carries of his own last season — has spearheaded one of the premier run games in the country. Roberts is one of only three running backs to have already surpassed 1,000 yards this year and has scored 10 of the Tigers’ 28 offensive touchdowns.
With both available, Drinkwitz knows the potential of his backfield combination.
“Getting Ahmad back, and him being able to take some of the load off of Jamal, will just create a one-two punch that I think’s gonna be important for us as we finish these last four (games),” he said Monday on the Brandon Walker College Football Show.
Drinkwitz elaborated that his team will have a more specific plan for Hardy against the Longhorns, with more carries to come now that he has game experience and reps under his belt.
What Hardy overcame, and his return to the field, has provided a boost of energy for the Tigers. And one thing is for sure: when he enters the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, that energy will radiate among all the Mizzou faithful in attendance.
