Eli Drinkwitz blasts national media for coverage of Heisman race, focus on QBs

Missouri has a Heisman candidate, and it’s not quarterback Beau Pribula. Running back Ahmad Hardy has quietly been putting together a Heisman campaign in Columbia, and Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz believes the nation should be taking notice.

“The national people are still all caught up on thin quarterbacks,” Drinkwitz said. “When they start actually looking into who are the best players, instead of just the quarterback stats, because, right now, national writers — no offense to y’all — they just look at stats. They’re not actually watching enough games to know.

“But, we got a lot of football left. I don’t think anybody’s won the Heisman in September. So, once you get into October, November, and there’s sustained excellence, we’ll figure out who the best player in college football is. Right now, it’s like the polls. The polls and the whatever are just for clicks and podcasts.”

Hardy boasts 600 rushing yards and six touchdowns this season. His 600 yards are the most of any Power Four player.

Hardy had his best game of the season thus far in Missouri’s 52-10 win over Louisiana in Week 2. In the victory, Hardy exploded for 250 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 22 carries.

The matchup was personal for Hardy. Before transferring to Missouri this offseason, Hardy spent his freshman season at UL Monroe, where he’d suffered a double-digit loss to Louisiana.

Despite the loss, Hardy had a standout season with UL Monroe. He compiled 237 carries for 1,351 yards and 13 TDs. For his efforts, Hardy was named the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year. After Missouri’s win over Louisiana on Sept. 13, Hardy opened up on his standout performance.

“Last season they beat us by 14 points and I was telling the guys this one was a little personal,” Hardy said. “So, I wanted to beat them. I wasn’t really focused on the yards, I just wanted to beat them and they came with it, so that’s what happened.”

While Hardy is far from a favorite to win the Heisman, analysts around the country are beginning to take notice of his impressive performances. This past weekend, former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow raved about the sophomore RB.

“Maybe one of the best players in the country that nobody is talking about is Ahmad Hardy,” Tebow said. “This dude is a freak. Leads the country in forced missed tackles, and he’s second in yards. It is ridiculous. His ability to go from accelerating to power to full-speed, it’s ridiculous at that size.

“He’s running 19.5 miles per hour. It’s a joke. This dude is for real. He’s one of the best players in the country.”

Hardy will look to continue to build his résumé on Saturday when the Tigers take on Massachusetts at 6:30 p.m. CDT. The game will air live on ESPNU.