Ahmad Hardy is back in the mix for Missouri, but Eli Drinkwitz isn’t rushing the process.
After missing the Tigers’ first eight games while recovering from an offseason gunshot wound, the star running back returned against Arkansas and got a small taste of action in Missouri’s 34-10 win. Hardy logged two carries for five yards, a measured re-entry that fit the cautious approach Drinkwitz has taken from the start.
On Tuesday, the Missouri head coach laid out what comes next. The focus, he said, is figuring out exactly how Hardy fits without disrupting what the Tigers have already built offensively around Jamal Roberts.
“For us, it’s continuing to clearly define what his role can be for us,” Drinkwitz said. “Where can we utilize him, without throwing off the rhythm of what we’ve already established offensively with Jamal [Roberts].”
Drinkwitz also indicated that the workload could shift a bit against Texas, with fans potentially seeing “more of a rotation” between Roberts and Hardy. Roberts handled the bulk of the work against Arkansas and made the most of it, rushing for 138 yards and a touchdown.
The timing matters, too. Texas is the first of three straight games against top 10 opponents for Missouri. After the Longhorns visit, the Tigers will head to Georgia before returning home to face Kentucky.
Missouri enters that stretch at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, and winning two of those three games would keep the Tigers firmly in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth.
Missouri and Texas kick off at noon ET on Saturday on ESPN.
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Arkansas Faces A Troubling Auburn Trend At The Worst Time
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Alex Golesh and Ryan Silverfield both spent time this week framing the game through their own teams lens, with Auburn trying to build on its season and Arkansas looking for answers on that side of the ball. For the Razorbacks, the bigger concern is not just the history of the matchup but the timing of it, because this is the kind of trend that can become a real problem if it keeps rolling in the wrong direction. [Read more 🡒]