For Missouri, everything around Ahmad Hardy starts with one simple question: how close is he to being the same player who tore through the SEC last season?
That question has carried from the offseason into the fall after a frightening detour in May. Hardy was shot in the upper leg during an outdoor concert in Laurel, Mississippi, on May 10. He had surgery that day, was discharged from the hospital and headed back to Columbia to begin rehab.
Nine days later, Hardy offered a brief update in a Missouri video: "I'm back on the road to success," Hardy said.
By July 20, at SEC Media Days, coach Eli Drinkwitz had the clearest picture yet. He said the bullet hit a bone, but that the bone had fully healed and Hardy had been cleared to start the return-to-play process. Missouri put the timeline at five to eight weeks, though Drinkwitz stopped short of putting a date on Hardy’s return to game action.
"I've been very, very proud of the way he's approached his recovery," Drinkwitz said.
The injury complicated what had already looked like a massive season ahead for Hardy. Entering 2026, he had a real argument as the best returning running back in college football.
His first year at Missouri was a monster: a school-record 1,649 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns and 256 carries. He averaged 6.4 yards per rush, finished second nationally in rushing yards and rushing yards per game, and became a consensus All-American and a Doak Walker Award finalist.
The numbers behind the production were just as eye-catching. Missouri said Hardy piled up 1,186 yards after contact and forced 97 missed tackles. PFF ranked him as the No. 1 returning running back for 2026.
His value showed up most when Missouri ran into trouble late last season. The Tigers averaged just 188 passing yards per game and threw only 15 touchdown passes all year.
Hardy accounted for more than half of Missouri’s 2,968 rushing yards, but the offense bogged down against stronger defenses. He was limited to 52 yards against Alabama and 58 at Auburn.
Missouri scored 10 points in a loss at Vanderbilt, six at Oklahoma and seven against Virginia in the Gator Bowl.
That stretch helped explain why Missouri finished 8-5 after opening 5-0. It also set up the pressure heading into 2026: the Tigers need to be less one-dimensional around Hardy.
Chip Lindsey is in as offensive coordinator, and Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons is the quarterback. Drinkwitz has praised Simmons for his ability to process defenses and communicate what he sees, but he still enters the season as largely untested as an SEC starter.
Hardy should have some help in the backfield this time. Jamal Roberts is back after rushing for 753 yards and six touchdowns last season.
"It's going to be a story to tell," Hardy said of playing alongside Roberts. "That's my guy. I'm his guy."
Missouri has won 29 games over the past three seasons, but the playoff breakthrough still hasn’t come. SEC media picked the Tigers 10th in the conference this summer, even while giving Hardy and left tackle Cayden Green first-team preseason All-SEC honors.
If Missouri is going to beat that projection, Hardy likely has to be one of the country’s most productive backs again, while Simmons gives the offense more balance through the air.
And the biggest unknown is still whether Hardy will look fully like himself after an injury that had nothing to do with football. Drinkwitz already knows the moment he’ll be watching for.
"When Ahmad scores his first touchdown this year," he said, "that's what I'll be thinking about - that journey from hospital bed to end zone."
Missouri opens with Arkansas-Pine Bluff before going to Kansas on Sept. 11, a game that could put Hardy’s recovery timeline right under the spotlight. The SEC schedule brings Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Texas and a November trip to Georgia, with Oklahoma coming to Columbia in the finale.
In Other News...
Drinkwitz Just Raised The Biggest Border War Question Yet
The Border War is back on the calendar, and Missouris win over Kansas last fall only sharpened the appetite for more. The two programs are already lined up to meet again this season, with additional games on the books in 2031 and 2032, giving the rivalry at least a little more runway after years of absence.
Eli Drinkwitz made clear he sees the matchup as bigger than a one-off nonconference date, stressing how much it means to both fan bases and how much he wants the series to keep going. The catch, as he noted, is that future meetings depend on both schools agreeing, which leaves the long-term shape of one of college footballs oldest rivalries still hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Suddenly Has A Huge Question Hanging Over Its Defensive Line
Sterling Webbs name has become a lot more important around Columbia than it was a few weeks ago. After four collegiate seasons, including two at New Mexico State, the former Mizzou defensive tackle is now at the center of a roster issue that could shape how the Tigers look up front in 2026, especially after he was such a steady part of the defense last season.
Webbs production gave Missouri real value on the interior, and the timing matters because the Tigers are already trying to piece together life without both him and Chris McClellan at defensive tackle. Fans are looking ahead to next season with plenty of optimism, but this is one of those situations that can change the conversation fast, depending on how the eligibility picture settles and what it means for the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]