Why Jamal Roberts was "Home at Mizzou"

How do you convince somebody to stay when it feels they have every reason to leave?

As the 2026 offseason began and Mizzou players began to hit the transfer portal, standout running back Jamal Roberts seemed like a prime candidate to be one of many departing Tigers. While fresh off a stellar season in which he rushed for 753 yards and six touchdowns, Roberts wasn't the RB1 at Mizzou and didn't have a clear path to be it in 2026 — Doak Walker finalist and Mizzou's single-season rushing leader Ahmad Hardy was sticking around.

From the outside, it seemed Roberts had reasons to leave for more favorable opportunities. Luckily for Missouri, the outside didn't matter.

"I just had no reason to leave," Roberts said. "I was home at Mizzou, and I started there and I wanted to finish there. And I'm just looking to have another good season that I had last year, not dwelling on last year, but having a better season than I had last year."

As Roberts said, he's aiming to improve upon his breakout 2025 campaign with a better 2026. As an upperclassmen, part of that now entails stepping up as a leader in the running back room — he's actually the oldest and most-experienced scholarship back in the room, given the departure of Tavorus Jones over the offseason.

Transfers like redshirt freshman Xai'Shaun Edwards and redshirt freshman Malae Fonoti have never played at the FBS level, while incoming freshmen Preston Hatfield and Max Warner haven't played at the collegiate level. Roberts' success at Missouri can be passed down to the younger guys looking to find their footing.

Nov 29, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Jamal Roberts (20) rushes for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Just being where my feet is," Roberts said. "Stepping up and just pouring into the guys that's younger than me and some of the transfer guys, showing them the Mizzou way. And just pouring some of that wisdom into them guys that never had it or just came from different programs that's not Mizzou."

Roberts brings value as a mentor to his backups, but he also brings value to the man he backs up, as does Hardy for him. While Hardy may be the better pure ball-carrier, Roberts is great in his own right as a rusher on top of being tremendous in pass protection. Coaching each other up is what helps make the duo among the nation's best.

"Me and Ahmad coach each other up all the time," Roberts said. "I thought he was coaching me up doing just summer workouts. And we give each other pointers, like I said. I would step up this year and pour wisdom into the guys, but he's already given the God-given ability to run the ball. But just to help him understand the plays, or pre-snap reads and this that and the third, and just help each other out. We really come as one."

With Hardy's return-to-play protocol set to take "five-to-eight weeks," Roberts may need to take the reigns of the rushing attack in the early parts of the season, as Hardy makes his anticipated full recovery from a gunshot wound he suffered on May 10.

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