Behind Mizzou’s running back legacy, Curtis Luper is building more than 1,000-yard rushers

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Matrix Midwest) - Before Ahmad Hardy arrived at Missouri, he knew the name Cody Schrader. He knew what Schrader had accomplished in the Tigers’ backfield — and he wanted to follow in his footsteps.

“Before I came here, I read about Cody Schrader. I wanted to come and basically be the next Cody Schrader,” Hardy said. “Coach Drink was building a program, winning football. I felt like I belonged here. When I came on my visit, I committed the day I visited. It was a home away from home.”

Schrader and Hardy took different roads to Mizzou, but both became All-Americans with help from the same coach: Curtis Luper.

The Tigers’ running backs coach has helped build a room where production is expected, lessons are passed down and relationships last long after players leave Columbia.

Different paths, same standard

Schrader transferred from Division II Truman State before earning the Burlsworth Trophy in 2023. Hardy began his college career at Louisiana-Monroe before becoming a consensus All-American at Missouri.

Both found a coach who believed in them.

“They gave me a chance,” Hardy said. “Coming out not highly recruited. SEC team took a chance on me. I really appreciate them for that.”

For Schrader, that belief was evident even before he climbed the depth chart.

“When I first got there, I came in eighth on the depth chart,” Schrader said. “He never made me feel like I was a walk-on kid, he didn’t push me to the side, he coached everyone in the room. That’s what made him special. That’s what made me ready for my opportunity.”

Schrader said Luper’s experience extended beyond the field, too.

“He’s just got so much wisdom and knowledge of the game and life,” Schrader said. “I was a sponge to him.”

Missouri’s list of 1,000-yard rushers under Luper includes Larry Rountree III, Tyler Badie, Schrader, Hardy and Jamal Roberts. Luper has also coached three Doak Walker Award finalists in the past five years.

Each year, records are broken. Badie set the single-season rushing record at 1,604 yards in 2021. Schrader surpassed him at 1,627 in 2023, then Hardy surpassed Schrader in 2025 when he rushed for 1,649 yards.

Since 2021, there have been 16 teams with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Mizzou is one of those teams.

For Roberts, watching the players ahead of him set the standard was motivation to keep the tradition going.

“I knew my time would come,” Roberts said. “They were good players, but how can I be better than them and keep it going? And for someone to come in after me and be better than me, just keeping it going in the running back room.”

Roberts said Luper helped him understand the game from different perspectives, including the importance of protection. But the lessons, he said, went beyond football.

“Outside of football, teaching us how to be a man on and off the field, how we carry ourselves outside of football,” Roberts said.

Schrader remembers seeing Roberts’ potential when Roberts was a freshman. After a Florida game, Schrader texted Luper about the young back’s performance. Luper, Schrader said, gave credit right back to him for helping Roberts along the way.

A partnership that started at Auburn

Luper’s relationship with Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz began long before they reunited in Columbia. They worked together at Auburn during the Tigers’ 2010 national championship season, when Luper also helped recruit future Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

“Coach Luper’s been with me the whole time,” Drinkwitz said. “Since 2010, he was always a guy who was steady that I had complete trust and faith in. And he’s proven to be much more than that here.”

Luper was at TCU when Drinkwitz’s coaching journey led him to a decision between two opportunities. Luper told him that if he chose Missouri, he would come with him.

“I said if you go B, I’m going to B with you,” Luper said.

At Missouri, Luper said, there is no single secret to developing the running backs who have come through his room. He credits a culture built over time — and an understanding that every player is different.

“I just say that I have to let them be themselves, everyone’s different, and I respect the difference in their game,” Luper said. “I’ve been coaching for 30 years, so I’ve learned that.”

That culture includes connections to Luper’s own playing days at Oklahoma State, where he shared a running backs room with future Pro Football Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. Luper said his players know they have access to both former teammates.

‘We develop men’

The numbers tell one part of Luper’s story at Missouri. Ask him about his legacy, though, and his answer has little to do with rushing yards.

“It has nothing to do with 1,000-yard rushers. It has nothing to do with winning football games, winning championships,” Luper said. “We’ve developed men. People forget that now in the NIL era, the transfer portal, but we develop men.”

Those relationships continue after players move on. Luper said he plans to attend Schrader’s wedding, which the former Missouri running back scheduled during the Tigers’ spring break.

“It’s those relationships, actually developing young men,” Luper said. “Thousand-yard rushers, winning football games, that means a lot today, but it doesn’t mean a lot in the whole scheme of things.”