South Carolina faces top running back as SEC play continues

SEC play rolls along for South Carolina as the Gamecocks hit the road to Columbia, Missouri, to face the Missouri Tigers. When the Gamecocks arrive in CoMo, they’ll be face-to-face with one of the nation’s top running backs.

Ahmad Hardy, transfer running back from Louisiana-Monroe, ranks second in the NCAA in rushing yards (462) and tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns (5).

“He’s a stud,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “All those backs are. All three of them are impressive.”

Sophomore Jamal Roberts and former four-star freshman Marquise Davis join Hardy in the Tigers’ backfield. Both backs eclipsed the 100-yard mark so far this season.

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On Mondays, Beamer likes to watch a cut-up of the big plays from that week’s opponent’s offense. The fifth-year head coach calls himself a glutton for punishment in that way.

“And I feel like the explosive run cut up that I watched from Missouri’s last three games is like the longest explosive run cut up I’ve watched in five years,” Beamer said. “It felt like it’s just long run after long run after long run. It starts with the scheme they run. Their M-O is running the outside zone, stretch play, wide zone, whatever one you want to call it. It’s all the same where they hand that ball off, and those offensive linemen get running.”

Entering Saturday’s contest, Missouri averages over 50 points per game, including almost 600 yards of total offense. Over 300 of the Tigers’ yards, on average, come in the run game.

Hardy comes into Saturday after a 250-yard performance against his former team on just 22 carries last Saturday. In two of his first three games as a Tiger, the sophomore averaged over 10 yards per carry. Additionally, he rushed for over 100 yards in all three games so far this season.

“He’s hard to tackle,” Beamer said. “He’s got great contact balance, he’s got really good speed, he’s got really good vision.”

Beamer called Hardy “a load” that thrives in the Tigers’ system. To stop the tailback, they’ll need to be significantly better at tackling than they have so far this season.

“We’ve been a good tackling team. We weren’t the other night,” Beamer said. “Our players know that they’ve got to get 11 hats to the ball. It’s hard to bring these running backs down with just one guy.”

Tackling was a point of emphasis after a difficult week against Vanderbilt, especially during the scout periods of practice, edge rusher Bryan Thomas Jr. said.

The Gamecock defense, inside the linebacker and defensive line room, emphasizes getting “knock back.” Additionally, the group tries to create turnovers by shedding blocks and punching out the ball.

The Gamecocks have struggled in stopping the run previously in Missouri under Beamer. In 2021’s three-point loss, South Carolina allowed Missouri’s Tyler Badie to rush for 209 yards on them. When the Gamecocks returned in 2023, they allowed Cody Schrader to rush for 159 while Brady Cook added another 64.

In addition to his praise of the back, Beamer mentioned a play he saw Hardy have against Kansas where the sophomore got to Hardy unblocked and completely missed the tackle. Moments later, that run turned into a Missouri touchdown. The run not only opened the scoring in that Saturday’s contest, but it was also Hardy’s longest of the day.

“He’s going to get his yards on Saturday,” Beamer said. “We’ve got to do a great job of getting 11 hats around the ball and corralling him, or we don’t allow that to just turn into explosives.”

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