Previous Previews: QUARTERBACKS
There is arguably no position group on Mizzou’s 2026 roster to have more confidence in than the tailback position.
For the first time ever, Mizzou statistically led the SEC in rushing yards per game in 2025. The Tigers return 90% of the rushing yards from the room a season ago, while adding sizable production to the room, as well. Like at quarterback, this room is deeper than ever in the Eli Drinkwitz era, and the Tigers have a legit opportunity to lead the conference
in rushing again.
Here’s who makes up Curtis Luper’s room in 2026:
- Malae Fonoti: 5-foot-10, 209 lbs., junior, La’ie, HI.
- Max Warner: 5-foot-9, 197 lbs., freshman, Chicago, IL.
- Jamal Roberts: 6-foot, 216 lbs., senior, St. Louis, MO.
- Brady Hultman: 5-foot-11, 201 lbs., senior, St. Charles, MO.
- Xai’Shawn Edwards: 5-foot-9, 198 lbs., junior, League City, TX.
- Anthony Favrow: 5-foot-8, 198 lbs., fifth-year senior, San Clemente, CA.
- Ahmad Hardy: 5-foot-10, 210 lbs., junior, Oma, MS.
- Preston Hatfield: 5-foot-9, 170 lbs, Lee’s Summit Mo.
Departing the room from a season ago are Brendon Haygood (North Texas), Marquise Davis (Louisville), and Tavorus Jones (UTEP). Four new running backs —two transfers and two recruits— join an already established powerful one-two punch. Let’s examine each current member:
Returners
Ahmad Hardy – For the third time since 2021, the bar for Mizzou’s single-season rushing yards record was set higher. Hardy ran for 1,649 yards and 16 scores in 2025. This includes a performance against Mississippi State where he became the second Tiger to reach 300 yards in a game.
When stacking up Hardy’s 2025 season to 2023 Cody Schrader and 2021 Tyler Badie, it is extremely impressive:
- Hardy collected 1,181 yards after contact compared to Schrader’s 851 and Badie’s 916 Per PFF.
- Hardy forced 97 missed tackles in comparison to Schrader’s 51 and Badie’s 57.
- Hardy had 25 designed runs of 15-plus yards compared to Schrader’s 18 and Badie’s 22.
He did so on 20 fewer carries than Schrader and 12 fewer than Badie. While his receiving production was minimal at 22 yards on six receptions, but he received a 77.2 PFF pass blocking grade, up from 58.4 at Louisiana-Monroe.
The caveat is— will Hardy be the same Ahmad Hardy in 2026? He was shot in the leg on May 10 in Mississippi. Per Eli Drinkwitz, he is progressing towards a return to the football field. He was not a participant in the first week of fall camp practice, and Drinkwitz pointed at a potential update in a couple of weeks.
As Drinkwitz mentioned at SEC Media Days, there aren’t many examples of how Hardy will return from this sort of injury. But, from what we saw in 2025, when on the field, Hardy is one of the better running backs in college football.
Jamal Roberts – Prior to 2025, you have to go back to 2014 to find two Mizzou running backs that both went over 750-plus rushing yards in a season (Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy). Roberts helped the Tigers accomplish that with 753 of his own and 6 scores.
Roberts patiently awaited his turn for a bigger role and finally got it after two seasons within the program. While Hardy was the star of the show, Roberts’ season wasn’t one to forget. He put the Kansas game on ice with a 63-yard rushing score, and crossed the century mark against both Texas A&M and Arkansas. His 6.1 yards per attempt ranked third among running backs in the SEC behind Hardy and Mike Washington Jr. of Arkansas.
This spring, Notre Dame saw not one, but two running backs be selected highly in the 2026 NFL Draft (Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price). Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mizzou sees both of their running backs selected next April in the nation’s capital if Roberts declares; he does still have two seasons of eligibility left.
Roberts operates Mizzou’s wide zone scheme with his vision, and he’s more than capable of breaking tackles. It’s fantastic that he chose to return to Mizzou, giving the Tigers a 1A and 1B attack for the second year in a row.
Anthony Favrow and Brady Hultman – Both Favrow and Hultman enter their fifth season with the Tigers. Favrow appeared in the UMass game, taking one carry for four yards, while playing in six special teams snaps throughout the season. In 2024, Hultman played 124 special teams snaps.
Newcomers
Xai’Shawn Edwards – It’s not difficult to be excited about the long-term future of the position. While Hardy and Roberts are your one-two punch in 2026, Missouri has an intriguing No. 3 within the room. Colin Simmons wrote a lot about Edwards recently, and it’s worth checking out. But, to briefly know about Edwards, he rushed for 1,000-plus yards at Houston Christian in 2025.
At 5-foot-9, 198 pounds he’s a change-of-pace running back in comparison to Hardy and Roberts. With the way Mizzou’s schedule shapes up in September with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kansas and Troy, there’s a strong chance we’ll see plenty of Edwards early.
Malae Fonoti – The Tigers have found success in transforming running backs from lower levels into capable rushers in the SEC: Hardy (ULM), Schrader (Truman State), Nate Noel (Appalachian State), and Marcus Carroll (Georgia State). And let’s be honest, with the track record of success that Luper and the running back room have had, it’s a very attractive spot in college football.
Fonoti is another one of those small school arrivals. He comes from Montana, a respectable program in the FCS. He has just 81 collegiate attempts, but when observing him, it’s easy to see what the coaching staff likes. He doesn’t have burner speed, but his vision and footwork on some of his runs is impressive, and at 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, he’s a tough runner that can break tackles. It almost reminds you of a… Cody Schrader?
But like Edwards, Fonoti is likely not to see too much action right away, but with multiple years of eligibility left, he’s a guy that you feel good about in the long-term for this team.
Preston Hatfield – A 3-star recruit, Hatfield has found plenty of success already in the Show-Me State. This past fall, he was a part of Lee’s Summit’s state title run. He was a key part of their success with 1,662 rushing yards and 12 scores. In Lee’s Summit’s state title game against Nixa, he ran for a state title game record 457 rushing yards in a 41-37 win. He was a phenomenal track athlete as well, competing in the 100 and 200.
Max Warner – Another 3-star recruit from Whitney Young High School in Chicago (Dennis Gates’ alma mater), Warner arrives after receiving 1st Team All-State honors in Illinois. At 5-foot-10, 197 pounds, he brings juice to the Tigers running back room with breakaway speed, while also running the 200m at Whitney Young.
Summing up the room in 2026
It’s tough to argue against the notion that Mizzou’s running back room is among the nation’s best.
Yes, Hardy’s health is the deciding factor if the Tigers’ rushing attack reaches their 2025 level or exceeds it. But even if Hardy isn’t on the field, Roberts has shown that he’s more than just a “complementary” running back, but a capable starter in the SEC. Edwards and Fonoti come from the FCS, but no program has shown how to get the best out of smaller school rushers than Mizzou.
And these are four running backs in the room worth talking about before even getting to the two recruits in the room. We know the identity of this offense is having a strong rushing attack, and this team isn’t going to shy away from it in 2026.
It is the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium. Over the past century, some awesome rushing attacks have called that field at the intersection of Providence and Stadium home.
In 1941, the Split-T revolutionized the game. Warren Powers installed the veer the Wilder-Gant-Ellis, years after Joe Moore and Tony Galbreath wore the black and gold. The triple option ran strong in the late 90’s, while Gary Pinkel found success throughout his tenure with multiple rushers.
There’s not many better ways to honor and carry on tradition by fielding another backfield that will carry the torch. It’s going to be exciting to see how this group builds off of the success of 2025.
Thanks for reading.
Projected Depth Chart:
RB1: Ahmad Hardy
RB2: Jamal Roberts
RB3: Xai’Shawn Edwards
RB4: Malae Fonoti
