Ahmad Hardy has no return timeline for Missouri

The good news is that Hardy got through a full practice. The catch is that nobody knows yet whether his body can handle the next day.

Eli Hoff

@byEliHoff

#Mizzou RB Ahmad Hardy was a full participant in Monday's practice, HC Eli Drinkwitz said. "Everything went good, but it’s really going to be about how does he feel today because we don’t know if he can do a back-to-back practice," Drinkwitz said.

That's the whole issue. Hardy was shot in the left leg as he left a concert in Mississippi in May. He hasn't played a snap this season, and Missouri only cleared him to practice this week. Drinkwitz has said before that Hardy needs 2 full weeks of full-speed practice before he'll be considered for a game. 1 good Monday doesn't change that, and on Tuesday Drinkwitz made sure nobody thought it did.

Michael Stamps

@msstamps7

The timetable for return for #Mizzou's Ahmad Hardy is still a giant question mark. More from Drinkwitz on Hardy: "So I don't know if he'll be back for Arkansas. I don't know if he'll be back for Texas. I don't know if he'll be back for the bowl game. Nobody knows."

"Nobody knows" is about as honest as a college coach gets during an injury week, and it's worth noticing that he mentioned the bowl game at all. Missouri's season isn't being built around getting Hardy back by a certain date. Drinkwitz says Hardy himself and the doctors will make the call, and the staff is in no hurry.

Michael Stamps

@msstamps7

More from Drinkwitz: "Our goal is to just make sure he's able to play and protect himself healthily as best he can. So that will be our guide. We'll be really attuned to how he's feeling, how he feels like he can best perform, and we'll rely on him and the doctors to make decisions based off of if and when he would be available for this year."

Michael Stamps

@msstamps7

Eli Drinkwitz says that #Mizzou running back Ahmad Hardy practiced yesterday. He also said that they'll see how his body responds today and there's no timeline for his return.

It's easy to see why Mizzou fans keep refreshing for updates. Hardy was a consensus All-American as a junior. He ran for 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns and led the SEC in rushing yards and yards per carry. Missouri has done fine without him so far. The Tigers are 5-2, and Jamal Roberts has led the SEC in rushing at nearly 124 yards per game. But the November schedule is brutal: Arkansas this Saturday, then No. 11 Texas, a trip to No. 3 Georgia and No. 9 Kentucky.

If you're betting Missouri, take Drinkwitz at his word. Hardy needs 2 weeks of practice, so Arkansas this weekend looks like a long shot. The earliest realistic return is Texas on Nov. 7 in Columbia, and even that depends on him stacking practices without setbacks, which Drinkwitz just said he can't promise. Until Hardy is on an availability report, the Tigers' price should assume Roberts carries the load.

What to watch: whether Hardy practices again Tuesday, and how he feels after it. If he strings together 2 weeks, Texas gets interesting. If he doesn't, Missouri runs this stretch with the backfield it already has, and Hardy's season may come down to a bowl game, or nothing at all.