Ahmad Hardy is set to return to Missouri for the 2026 college football season. He signed an extension with the university and Eli Drinkwitz expects to have his star running back on the roster.
The Tigers better make sure their contract is ironclad!
Their superstar ball-carrier showed visible frustration during a tense conversation with his head coach during the final college football game of his true sophomore year. Could he still back out?
Ahmad Hardy is a monster.
There were very few players more important to their team than Hardy. The former three-star recruit transferred to Missouri during the offseason after a 1,300-yard campaign at Louisiana-Monroe in 2024.
He picked up right where he left off.
Ahmad Hardy ran for 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns on 256 carries during his first season in Columbia. That is an average of 6.4 yards per touch, which is the most of any running back in the country with more than 150 carries. The Tigers won eight games in large part because of his production. They probably do not beat Arkansas or Mississippi State without him. Alabama, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Oklahoma beat Missouri because they held Hardy under 100 yards.
You get the idea. Mizzou goes as its running back goes. Good luck trying to bring him down.
Ahmad Hardy is never down pic.twitter.com/mDqS2LO0qP
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) December 28, 2025
As a result of how Hardy played in 2024 and 2025, there is legit Heisman Trophy buzz for 2026.
Will he still return to Missouri?
The University of Missouri football program announced the return of its star running back for next season earlier this month. Ahmad Hardy officially re-signed with the Tigers.
That was on Dec. 19. Drinkwitz also confirmed Hardy is coming back on Saturday night after he publicly campaigned for the return of his backup.
However, there is always a chance that he could change his mind. Hardy and Drinkwitz got into a tense discussion on the sideline during a six-point loss to Virginia at the Gator Bowl.
I am sure Mizzou fans want to see Ahmad Hardy and Drink speaking like this pic.twitter.com/RKl8EU0z3U
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) December 28, 2025
It looked like a fairly normal conversation between a frustrated player and his head coach but it raises a potential red flag. If Missouri’s contract extension with its star running back does not include a heavy buyout and/or includes some kind of opt-out clause, the frustrating loss to end 2025 could change Ahmad Hardy’s mind. Tigers fans are split on whether he would still leave at this point, if his financial agreement even allows him to do so. We’ll see.