Missouri fans will see the 2026 debut of Ahmad Hardy this weekend.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Hardy will play in the game against Arkansas on Saturday. Thamel said Hardy will not start but will get a “handful of carries” in the SEC matchup.
Hardy returned to practice this week after dealing with injuries from being struck by a bullet in May. He led the SEC in rushing last year with 1,649 yards. Hardy also registered 16 touchdowns and earned consensus All-American honors.
“I really don’t have a timeline,” Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz said about Hardy this week, per Kyle McAreavy of Mizzou Today. “There’s never been anybody that we’ve experienced have to go through this. And so for me to put an artificial timeline on that creates an expectation and then disappointment to you and the fans and everybody else, because he can’t meet something that he has no control over, or I have no control over.”
Will Ahmad Hardy’s Return Help Missouri Make a Run?
“So, like I said, you know we’re really just going based off he practiced yesterday; everything went good, but it’s really going to be about how does he feel today? Because we don’t know if he can do a back-to-back practice, and then how does that translate till tomorrow? So there’s no timeline on, ‘If this, then this, then this.’ It’s, ‘Hey, we’ll see how today goes, and then we’ll figure out what tomorrow looks like and go from there.”
Hardy’s return comes at the right time as the Tigers look to finish the 2026 season strong. They are currently 5-2 and will face No. 11 Texas, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 9 Kentucky to close out the year.