Ad Disclosure
ESPN released its SEC spring football preview on Thursday morning, detailing the top storylines, positions of intrigue and players to watch for all 16 SEC teams.
One of the more intriguing teams in the league continues to be Missouri, which hung around in College Football Playoff contention for a while and despite falling short of that still got to double-digit victories for the second straight season. The Tigers went 10-3 in 2024, and now Eli Drinkwitz enters his 6th season in Columbia with the motivation to get Mizzou over the hump and into the Playoff.
Excited for legal sports betting in Missouri? Here’s a breakdown of all the best Missouri betting promos so you can be prepared when legal betting goes live later this year!
So, how can the Tigers accomplish this and who is the player that can help lead Mizzou into that uncharted territory?
According to ESPN’s Chris Low, the player to watch for the Tigers going into spring camp is located at the running back position. Here is what Low wrote about the Mizzou backfield:
Running back Ahmad Hardy comes over from ULM after putting together a terrific freshman season in the Group of 5 ranks. He rushed for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns and was especially effective after contact. Hardy and returnee Jamal Roberts should complement each other well in Drinkwitz’s offense.
Hardy will try to duplicate his success at Louisiana-Monroe, but obviously it won’t be easy translating that kind of production to the SEC ranks. But if Hardy can merely be a strong piece to the puzzle along with Roberts in the Mizzou backfield, then another double-digit-win season in 2025 could finally be accompanied by that elusive trip to the Playoff.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
