All-American running back Ahmad Hardy has been discharged from a Mississippi hospital following a shooting over the weekend, and the Missouri standout is returning to Columbia to begin the recovery effort in the hopes of playing this season.The school said in a statement early Sunday that Hardy, a Doak Walker Award finalist for the Tigers, had been shot and was in stable condition. Police later said Hardy was shot in the upper leg while attending an outdoor concert at a bike club in Laurel, about 90 minutes away from where he grew up in the small town of Oma, Mississippi.Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said during an event in Dallas late Tuesday that the timetable for Hardy’s recovery is undetermined.“We’ll take it day by day,” Drinkwitz said. “He will be back healthy. You know, when you’re dealing with elite athletes, right, 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,” Drinkwitz added.Laurel police Sgt. Macon Davis told the Laurel (Mississippi) Leader-Call three people of interest were in custody following the incident. Davis described the scene as a “melee,” saying at least two people were injured and it was a miracle others were not.
