“Hardy has returned to Columbia. He is still in the hospital to monitor his wounds and post-surgery. Hardy is in good spirits. He is walking and doing physical therapy three times a day. He hopes to check out of the hospital on Monday.”
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Ahmad Hardy found himself in a dangerous situation after attending a concert on the evening of 10th May in Laurel, Mississippi. At about 2 a.m., a hail of gunfire ensued outside the concert location, and a bullet struck Ahmad Hardy’s thigh while he was there. Hardy underwent surgery at the Mississippi Hospital, and the recovery has been in the right direction.
However, how quickly he’d be able to make his return has yet to be determined.
“We’ll take it day by day,” Drinkwitz said. “He will be back healthy. You know, when you’re dealing with elite athletes, getting back healthy and getting back to elite status is a little tricky in these situations. There is an opportunity he could be back this year; there is an opportunity he couldn’t be back this year. We won’t know those answers for a few weeks.”
Hardy had an exceptional last season; he finished second among all FBS players with 1,649 rushing yards, scored 16 touchdowns, and averaged 6.4 yards per carry across 256 attempts. He also took home SEC Newcomer of the Year honors and was a Doak Walker Award finalist.
Suspect Arrested in Connection with the Shooting
On Thursday night, Sgt. Macon Davis of the Laurel Police arrested 20-year-old Rashodrick Harris from Mississippi in Paducah, Kentucky, following the incident. Police arrested Harris on two counts of aggravated assault charges following his identification from footage captured by a video camera. This happened at about 1:30 a.m. after a National Crime Information Center notification for vehicle registration.
“He’s going to be extradited one way or the other,” Davis told the paper. “If he fights it all the way, we’d have to end up with a governor’s warrant. But it absolutely will happen.”
Hardy has yet to play a full season as the unambiguous centerpiece of a Power Four program’s offense. If his recovery follows the trajectory Drinkwitz described, that opportunity may still be waiting for him in 2026.