Sources: Mizzou RB Hardy eyes mid-Sept. return

Missouri star running back Ahmad Hardy will not be available for the start of the season for the Tigers, sources told ESPN, as he still hasn't practiced for the Tigers. The target for his return is mid-September, per sources, as he continues to rehab and recover from a gunshot wound to the leg. Hardy entered the season as one of the most accomplished players in the sport and among the best in the SEC. He earned first-team All-American honors last year and finished No. 2 in the nation in rushing. Missouri opens with Arkansas-Pine Bluff and plays at Kansas on Sept. 11, which Hardy appears likely to miss. Missouri plays Tory on Sept. 19 and then has its first league game at Mississippi State on Sept. 26. Hardy transferred to Missouri from Louisiana Monroe for the 2025 season and became one of the breakthrough players in the SEC, leading the league in rushing yards (1,649) and yards per attempt (6.4). Hardy suffered a gunshot wound at a concert in Mississippi in May. He immediately had surgery and Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz has been judicious with his updates on Hardy's status since then. At SEC Media Days in July, Drinkwitz said that Hardy was "medically cleared" but still needed to work his way back. This leaves redshirt junior Jamal Roberts as Missouri's expected workhouse. He's an accomplished back who has rushed for 968 career yards and averages 5.4 yards per carry over his career.