Mizzou sophomore running back Ahmad Hardy was among 80 players named to this year's Maxwell Award watch list.
Mizzou RB Ahmad Hardy Receives Prestigious Preseason Honor originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
With the start of the college football season approaching, come preseason watch lists for the sport's top awards.
Monday, the Maxwell Football Club unveiled its watch list for the prestigious Maxwell Award. Since 1937, the award has presented each year to the "most outstanding player in the sport."
The day is FINALLY here 🏈
— Maxwell Football (@MaxwellFootball) July 28, 2025
Check out the 2025 #MaxwellFootball Watchlist!!! 👀 #MaxwellFootball
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Mizzou sophomore running back Ahmad Hardy was among 80 players named to this year's list.
Last season at Louisiana-Monroe, Hardy led all FBS freshman running backs with 1,351 rush yards. The 5-foot-10, 206-pound back added eight receptions for 72 yards and a total of 13 touchdowns. Perhaps more importantly, he gained experience against SEC competition, rushing for a combined 90 yards against Texas and Auburn.
This season, Hardy is expected to lead a Mizzou ground game that lost leading rushers Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll to graduation.
"Really excited about that young man." Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said of Hardy during SEC Media Days. "He has great burst, understands the scheme and how to run it. So very proud of him."
Missouri has had a running back finish top five in the conference in rushing yards four out of the last five seasons. The news of Hardy landing on the Maxwell Award watch list comes less than two weeks after the SEC Preseason Media Days All-SEC teams were announced. Hardy was not named to either of the media's three preseason teams.
26 running backs were named to the Maxwell Award watch list. Including Hardy, a total of six were from SEC schools - Georgia's Nate Frazier, LSU's Caden Durham, Texas' Quintrevion Wisner, Oklahoma's Jaydn Ott and Texas A&M's Le'Veon Moss.
Related: Tigers Coach Eli Drinkwitz: Mizzou Has 'Something to Prove' Mindset
Related: Mizzou Football's Top 25 Games Since 2000: No. 1-5
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
