With four straight 100-yard games to start the season, Missouri Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy seemingly has all of the high-end stats necessary to be a valid candidate in the early-season Heisman Trophy race.
While some have given Hardy the respect he deserves, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz made a point to call out national media members who have snubbed him and other players in favor of quarterbacks.
During Drinkwitz’s press conference on Tuesday, he was asked about the impact Hardy has had since joining the team via the transfer portal this past offseason, after playing his freshman season at UL Monroe. And when the topic of Hardy’s Heisman prospects arose, the coach explained that he hasn’t seen nearly enough national media members giving his RB the recognition he believes he deserves.
“I haven’t really seen much other than Mizzou people,” said Drinkwitz. “The national people are all still caught up on thin quarterbacks. So, when they actually start looking at who are the best players instead of just the quarterback stats… Because now, national writers, no offense to y’all, they just look at stats. They are not actually watching enough games to know. But we have got a lot of football left. I don’t think anyone has ever won the Heisman in September. Once you get into October and November, their sustained excellence, we’ll figure out who the best player in college football is. Right now, it’s like the polls. The polls right now are for clicks and podcasts.”
At the moment, the vast majority of preseason Heisman favorites at the quarterback position, including Arch Manning, LaNorris Sellers, and Cade Klubnik, have primarily been disappointing to start the 2025 season. However, instead of examining who the best non-quarterbacks have been this season, it appears that most national media members have shifted their focus to other quarterbacks.
Ultimately, as Drinkwitz alluded to, the cream will eventually rise to the top. So, if Missouri, currently sitting at 4-0, continues its winning ways, Hardy remains a significant part of that success; it will be hard to deny him as a valid Heisman candidate.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.