COLUMBIA, Mo. — Four Mizzou football student-athletes were named to the 2026 Coaches Preseason All-SEC team, the league office announced on Wednesday. The team was voted on by all 16 of the league’s head coaches.
Running back and returning consensus All-American Ahmad Hardy was selected to the first team along with senior left tackle Cayden Green. Long snapper Brett Le Blanc earned second-team recognition from the league’s coaches while senior linebacker and Auburn transfer Robert Woodyard Jr. earned a third-team nod.
Hardy, who is recovering from an offseason injury, rushed for a Mizzou record 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns while recording seven 100-yard rushing games. He became just the sixth player in SEC history to rush for 300 yards in a single game. Hardy, a first team All-American, was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation’s top running back. He forced 97 missed tackles as a sophomore and accounted for 71.9 percent of his rushing yards after contact (1,186).
Green, who was a first team All-SEC selection a year ago, garners preseason honors for the second straight year. A native of Lee’s Summit, Green enters his third season as a key piece of the Tigers’ offensive front. He cleared a path for the nation’s No. 8 rushing offense (2,968 yards) last season while allowing just two sacks in 362 pass attempts.
Le Blanc, a native of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, was a second-team pick at long snapper after starting all 13 games for the Tigers a year ago and executing 108 snaps cleanly in 2025. The senior is a key part of the Tigers’ special teams units in 2026.
Woodyard Jr., a productive veteran linebacker who transferred in from fellow SEC foe Auburn, earned third-team recognition from league coaches after making 11 starts and racking up 67 tackles (50 in SEC play) a season ago. The senior from Mobile, Alabama, earned first-team All-SEC recognition from Pro Football Focus for his strong 2025 campaign.
The Tigers open the season with “Kickoff in CoMo” on Thursday, September 3, at Memorial Stadium. The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on the SEC Network. Fans can purchase four tickets for $80 to the “Kickoff in CoMo” home opener by clicking HERE. The game marks the fifth-consecutive year the Tigers have opened their season in primetime and the ninth weeknight game at home since 2015.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest information on Mizzou Athletics, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Missouri football (@MizzouFootball) and Coach Eli Drinkwitz (@CoachDrinkwitz) on X. You can also find the Tigers on Instagram and Facebook.