2025 Mizzou Position Preview: Running Backs

The Tigers have plenty of great positional coaches, but arguably nobody has been as good as Curtis Luper at the running back spot. He's been dead in the center of a room that's produced multiple professionals. He arrived in Columbia in 2020 and has been off to the races ever since.

In that time, he's helped develop Tyler Badie, Cody Schrader, Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll. Not only were Badie and Schrader productive in college at a high level, but both have either found professional success, or are on the cusp of doing so. Those development successes are clear proof of what Luper does at the position.

Luper has a long history of coaching that dates back to 1995 with Stephen F. Austin. His first notable gig came in 2002 with New Mexico, acting as the running backs coach and the special teams coordinator. He left for Oklahoma State in 2005 and spent three seasons there as the running backs coach, along with other positions.

He proceeded to hold the same roles at Auburn and TCU, ultimately achieving co-offensive coordinator status from 2017-2019 before landing with the Tigers. This has arguably been his most impressive stint so far, along with his second-longest one on a coaching staff.

The Starter

Louisiana-Monroe transfer Ahmad Hardy absolutely will be the day-one starter for the Tigers against Central Arkansas and some seriously surprising stuff would have to happen for that to change at any point during the season.

Hardy rushed for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Warhawks, leading the Sun Belt Conference by a significant margin. He was also tied at the top of the conference for touchdowns scored, doing so alongside another running back who transferred into the SEC.

The Sun Belt transfer brings everything a coach could want into a running back room. He has speed and strength, with the ability to break tackles like practically nobody else. There isn't much bad to say about Hardy, especially when it comes to his running back play and horseback-riding ability.

"Ahmad Hardy comes along, teaches his teammates how to ride a horse," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said after spring practices. "The outside zone — it’s been impressive to watch him on Twitter riding horses as much as it’s been impressive to watch him on film. He does an excellent job with both."

He brings an exciting element to this Missouri offense and should be one of the most reliable players on it. He's only a sophomore and has plenty to learn, with a learning curve and talent gap inevitably will present some challenges to him, but it should all work out.

The Rotation

Beyond Hardy lie three talented running backs who, in total, should have no issues backing him up. A combination of sophomore Jamal Roberts, freshman Marquise Davis and junior Tavorus Jones should do the trick when it comes to relieving Missouri's potential star.

Roberts has the most experience in the room, rushing for 216 yards and three touchdowns last year. He's a reliable pass blocker and has become more usable as a rusher, which should make earning the second running back slot easier for him.

"Last year, really embraced that third-down back, two-minute back, blitz pickup," offensive coordinator Kirby Moore said of Roberts during a spring press conference. "He's just an unbelievable teammate, embracing his role."

If four-star freshman Marquise Davis has anything to say about it, Roberts won't be the only other running back receiving carries. He's a dynamic runner and has a blend of size and speed that's perfect for the conference. Davis is talented enough to make his way up the depth chart and the coaching staff seems to agree, but experience is the main factor.

Tavorus Jones is also hanging around in this room, but may be the odd man out. He hasn't proven himself much with the ball in his hands and now has Davis in front of him to compete against. He will have to show a lot in the fall to make a move up the depth chart.

This is a talented group with great versatility and it will be enough to help Hardy. The distribution of snaps is very unclear at the moment and might not be clear for awhile, but it's an undeniable fact that the talent is there.

Who’s next up? 

The Tigers have two freshmen in the room in Davis and four-star Brendon Haygood. One of them will play this season and the other will likely have to wait his turn, with Haygood falling into the latter category.

It's also worth mentioning that Hardy is only a true sophomore. He's the future and present of this running back room, which should mean only good things are to come for the position. At the very minimum, there could be two more years of Hardy in a Tiger uniform.

Biggest question in fall camp: Who cements themself as the RB2?

With all of that being said, one person will have to cement themself as the true backup to Hardy. It's likely that at least two and potentially three will play behind him, but it's not clear who the second option to him will be.

Right now, it looks like the spot might be Roberts'. He has the most experience in the Missouri offense of the returners, but doesn't have the rushing production to contend for the No. 1 spot against Hardy. His bread and butter is in pass protection, which will certainly get him on the field.

Davis certainly could get to that point by the end of the season. He'll play throughout the year and has some impressive true rushing ability, but he has to get used to the pace of the SEC. The same thing goes for Jones, who has yet to get consistent snaps in his career.