Mizzou Football: Fans should accept a season without Ahmad Hardy

Can I be honest about something that will likely get me in trouble?

… I don’t always like rooting for the underdog. In fact, sometimes I actively root for the favorite to win.

Call me crazy, but I’ve always loved the idea that I’m watching greatness in real time. After my St. Louis NFL allegiances waned, I enjoyed watching Tom Brady win a Super Bowl in Tampa. I liked watching Messi win the World Cup and Ballon d’Or in 2022-2023. I never minded when Nick Saban’s Alabama teams would romp through the postseason. There are occasional exceptions, but watching someone do something great is one of the heights of sports-watching pleasure.

That’s why it pained me to write the headline that I wrote today. It’s something I’ve been wrestling with for the better part of three months. And I finally feel comfortable embracing it. Ahmad Hardy may not – probably won’t? – suit up for Mizzou Football this season. And I’m OK with that. Maybe we all should be.

What happened to Mizzou’s star running back in the summer was a tragedy regardless of his status as a football star. That it put his ability to run through other guys while carrying a ball in jeopardy is sad, but not the most consequential part of that unfortunate evening in Mississippi. Thankfully, by all accounts, his life will continue on unabated, his football career included.

Just maybe not in Columbia, Missouri.

We’ve all been anxiously awaiting news of Hardy’s return since he was medically cleared nearly two months ago. That it happened in July, well over a month before the regular season started, seemed to be a good omen. Mizzou would have its All-American tailback, perhaps earlier in the season than any of us could have thought.

Then Eli Drinkwitz said he wasn’t going to rush Hardy.

Then Eli Drinkwitz said he needed to see Hardy back for two weeks of full-speed practice.

Then Eli Drinkwitz said Hardy still wasn’t practicing.

And now we’ve arrived at the disappointing liminal space. Every update on Hardy has become a non-update. He’s still not practicing. There’s no timetable for his return. Ad nauseum. Mizzou is nearly one-fourth of the way into the 2026 season and there’s no reason to think Hardy is any closer to playing than he was in July.

And honestly? We should be OK with that.

Watching Hardy light the world on fire in 2025 was exhilarating. He was the best part of all of our favorite Mizzou running backs. He had the power of Larry Rountree III. The grit of Henry Josey. The agility of Tyler Badie. The determination of Cody Schrader. And he eclipsed all of them in one, glorious individual season.

The thought of watching him do it again with a gunslinger QB by his side and talented wideouts all over the field was tanalizing. It still is. As much as I love watching Austin Simmons hit Cayden Lee for chunk yardage time and again, it doesn’t compare to watching Hardy break three form tackles on his way to a 40-yard run. He was so great, so fast and for (relatively) so long.

And that’s why I’ve come to be OK with him potentially missing all of the 2026 season. I don’t watch the NFL like I used to, but I do tune in to watch our Mizzou boys suit up. I like watching Luther Burden. Ty’Ron Hopper. Josiah Trotter. And I want to add Ahmad Hardy to that list of guys that make me, against my better judgement, tune in on Sundays. Anything that could potentially risk his recovery and ability to play on Sundays should be cast aside. If there’s any doubt whatsoever that returning to play could harm his potential career, I’m OK with giving it up for the potential of something better (for him) in the future.

Putting Hardy with that list of above players may strike some people as false. After all, he was only a Tiger for one season. But his Mizzou bonafides, at least in my mind, aren’t in any doubt. He was a hot commodity when he first hit the transfer portal in early 2025… and he chose Mizzou. He was an even hotter commodity after his All-American season, when he could have cashed in on a blank check from any number of College Football Playoff contenders… and he chose Mizzou. And after his injury, he immediately returned to Columbia, presumably with the intention of playing again. Combine that with the fact that he had, quite literally, the best season a Mizzou running back has ever had? He’s a Tiger for all-time, longevity be damned.

I’m hoping that this column looks silly in a month or two. I’m praying that Ahmad Hardy puts 200+ yards on Texas and that Mizzou is carrying him off the field as they march toward a program-first CFP berth. I am encouraging, no pleading, you to rush to this column when that happens and roast my ass for doubting his return.

But if that doesn’t happen, if the signs we’re seeing indicate we’ve seen the last of Ahmad Hardy in a Mizzou uniform, then I’m asking that we all accept it. For the sake of watching him represent Mizzou on Sundays without fear of re-injury. For the sake of his mental health in recovering from an injury many of us will never understand. For the sake of remembering his 2025 season, untainted and in all its glory. For the sake of praying that Ahmad Hardy will remain great.

Even if it’s not in black and gold.