Mizzou Football: 3 RBs Tigers should target in transfer portal

Mizzou will need to overhaul its running back room ahead of the 2025 season. This year’s starters, Marcus Carroll and Nate Noel, will both be out of eligibility after the Music City Bowl.

Meanwhile, 2024 signee Kewan Lacy recently transferred to Ole Miss after appearing in 6 games for the Tigers as a true freshman.

Mizzou should be an attractive spot for transfer RBs. Carroll came over from Georgia State this season and ran for 578 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns. Noel, a transfer from Appalachian State, ran for a team-high 804 yards and added 5 touchdowns on the ground.

Eli Drinkwitz has shown he can work wonders with transfer RBs. Back in 2023, Division II transfer Cody Schrader led the SEC with 1,627 rushing yards.

So who should Drinkwitz and the Tigers look to add this transfer portal season? Here are 3 names I have my eye on: 

1. Ahmad Hardy

There’s some buzz around Hardy and the Tigers, which makes sense. The Louisiana-Monroe star led the Sun Belt with 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024.

Hardy was on a visit at Mizzou on Tuesday, according to his social media activity: 

Hardy also has shown flashes as a receiver. He only had 8 catches for 72 yards this season, most of them on this reception: 

The best news about Hardy? He was only a freshman in 2024, so he still has 3 years of eligibility remaining. He could become the next great running back in Mizzou history in that time.

Carroll finished second in the Sun Belt in rush yards in 2023. Hardy led the Sun Belt in rush yards in 2024. Let’s see if Drinkwitz can make pulling top Sun Belt RBs to Columbia a trend that continues to be fruitful for the Tigers.

2. Kanye Udoh

Even playing alongside Army QB Bryson Daily, who ran for 1,532 yards and 29 touchdowns en route to a sixth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy race, Udoh stood out. He managed 1,117 yards and 10 scores while averaging 6.24 yards per carry.

This is another player where there’s some buzz with Mizzou. The Tigers are set to host Udoh on Wednesday, according to reports: 

Those are some strong programs to contend with for the Tigers – Arizona State and SMU are preparing for the Playoff, while North Carolina just hired NFL legend Bill Belichick as its head coach.

But Drinkwitz’s track record with transfer RBs speaks for itself. 

3. Roman Hemby

I’ve been a fan of Hemby’s the last couple of years at Maryland. His numbers were down a bit this year after QB Taulia Tagovailoa ran out of eligibility, but I’m still high on his ability.

Put him behind an SEC offensive line with whichever QB wins the Mizzou starting job and I’m confident Hemby can revert to his 2022 numbers, when he ran for 989 yards and 10 scores while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

Hemby hasn’t said much about his transfer portal plans thus far, but it’ll be interesting to see if Drinkwitz and his staff reach out to the strong Maryland back.

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Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 14 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.