Missouri heads into its Week 3 matchup with Troy still dealing with a couple of major absences in the backfield, but the rest of the roster is lining up to be available for the Tigers’ nonconference finale.
The biggest name on the injury report is Ahmad Hardy, who will sit out again as he continues to recover from the offseason gunshot wound he suffered while attending a concert in May in Laurel, Mississippi. Hardy, a consensus All-American last year after breaking MU’s single-season rushing record, has not yet returned to game action.
Missouri will also be without Malae Fonoti, a key reserve at running back who tore his ACL without contact in the Tigers’ Week 1 win over UAPB. Fonoti has already had surgery and is out for the season.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday that Hardy is still “rehabbing” and that he had no update on where things stand. On Wednesday, during an appearance on Wake Up Barstool, he gave a little more detail about the process.
“The biggest thing for us is just trying to get Ahmad back healthy and putting him out there in a position to be successful. And you can't rush it, you know?
I mean, he's like a thoroughbred. Unless his gait is exactly the way it needs to be, you can't put him in a bad position, so we're taking it day by day, step by step.”
Drinkwitz also said: “He's incredibly frustrated, and I think that's been the hardest thing on me is watching - he's extremely competitive, and football is what matters to him most. I think his son and football are the two things that he lives for,” Drinkwitz said on Wake Up Barstool. “To have football be on the shelf right now has been really difficult for him, but he's working every day to get back.”
Drinkwitz has already said he wants to see Hardy log two full weeks of full-speed practice before considering him for a game. If Hardy still hasn’t practiced, that would rule him out for Missouri’s SEC opener at Mississippi State on Sept. 26 in Starkville, Mississippi, and make him increasingly unlikely to return for the homecoming game against Florida on Oct. 3 in Columbia.
With Hardy unavailable, Jamal Roberts is the expected starter against Troy. He has 172 rushing yards and two touchdowns this season, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
Xai’Shaun Edwards, the Houston Christian transfer, should handle the main backup role at tailback. He picked up his first touchdown for Missouri in the second half of the Sept. 11 win over Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
There is better news up front. Starting left tackle Cayden Green is expected to be available moving forward after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus 10 days before the Kansas game, Drinkwitz said after that win. Green, the preseason first-team All-SEC offensive tackle, started and played nearly the entire game against the Jayhawks.
If Missouri decides to hold Green out against Troy, though that is not the current expectation, Jack Lange and Whit Hafer would be the likely options at left tackle.
Outside of those injury situations, Missouri is expected to have its full two-deep available for the 6 p.m. kickoff on Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
The Tigers will start releasing official weekly availability reports on Wednesday ahead of SEC play. The conference requires four reports before league games, with updates coming Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night, plus one final report 90 minutes before kickoff on game day.
In Other News...
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Dobson has separated herself from the field and put Missouri in position to turn a solid start into something more meaningful, especially with the final round still to play. Walker has also stayed in the mix after back-to-back 2-under 70s, giving the Tigers another contender to lean on as they try to finish off a strong showing in front of the home crowd. [Read more 🡒]