By this time next week, Mizzou Football will have an official record for the 2026 season. Ahmad Hardy, on the other hand, will still be waiting for his first snaps.
We’ve known for a week or so now that the All-American running back, who is still getting up to speed after his gunshot wound this summer, will miss Mizzou’s first game. Given Eli Drinkwitz’s talk around Hardy – the coach has said he wants two weeks of full-speed practice from the RB – it’s more likely he misses at least two or three games.
This is less of a problem for Mizzou than it would be for most teams. Most teams, after all, don’t have Jamal Roberts as their alternative starter. But if the Tigers are to reach their ceiling in 2026, they’ll need the Mississippi Machine back and terrorizing defenses at some point. And as much as we’d like to think it’ll only be a few weeks, you can never be sure about injuries of this magnitude.
So how are Mizzou fans feeling about Ahmad Hardy’s health? As it may be expected, they’re a bit concerned.
Frankly, I’m a little surprised ‘Extremely Worried’ didn’t end up much higher. I’m even more surprised that ‘Completely Calm’ got more than a third of the total vote. That’s a lot of certainty surrounding a serious injury, especially for a player who relies heavily on the strength of his legs. I’d be somewhere between ‘Mildly Concerned’ and ‘Extremely Worried’ myself, but they only let us have so many options to choose from.
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