Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy has been medically cleared to begin a return-to-play protocol after a gunshot wound to his leg in May, head coach Eli Drinkwitz announced Monday at SEC Media Days in Tampa.
The bullet struck a bone in Hardy’s leg, Drinkwitz told reporters. The coach estimated a five-to-eight-week recovery window before the junior could see game action — a timeline that could put him back on the field during the opening weeks of Missouri’s regular season, which starts September 3 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
“We anticipate that he will make a recovery,” Drinkwitz said. “What that recovery will look like after having a bullet strike you is still to be determined.”
Hardy was shot on May 10 while attending a concert in Laurel, Mississippi. Police arrested Rashodrick Harris days later and charged him with aggravated assault. Harris was released on $500,000 bond.
Drinkwitz praised the way Hardy has handled rehabilitation and said he expects the running back to come back stronger.
“My anticipation of what I’ve seen, the way he’s attacked his rehab: He’s going to be a better Ahmad Hardy than when he was before,” Drinkwitz said.
In his first season at Missouri, Hardy rushed for 1,659 yards — second in the Football Bowl Subdivision — and broke the program’s single-season rushing record. He is regarded as a potential high NFL draft pick should he leave school after this season.
Drinkwitz also used the platform to address the broader circumstances. He was careful to frame his remarks as separate from debates over gun ownership.
“Not criticizing the police or the right to bear arms, which is a Second Amendment right,” Drinkwitz said. “But just saying there is no place for gun violence, especially for our youth in society.”
He called the shooting a learning moment for Hardy and the team.
“What I want to tell y’all is this was a great opportunity for Ahmad to learn. It was a great opportunity for our student-athletes to learn,” Drinkwitz said. “It was also a great reminder that there is no place for gun violence in this world.”
A kid who can grind out 1,600-plus yards in the SEC has the kind of toughness you don’t coach — you just hope it’s still in the tank after a bullet finds bone. Drinkwitz’s five-to-eight-week estimate is honest, not optimistic. Bone heals on its own schedule, and the film doesn’t lie about what a player looks like when he comes back from something like this. Missouri opens camp knowing their bell-cow back is cleared but not ready, and that’s the reality they’ll work from.
Sources
- Ahmad Hardy medically cleared after gunshot wound — Yahoo Sports
- Mizzou RB Ahmad Hardy on the mend after shooting; coach says there’s no place for gun violence — Yahoo Sports (AP)