It’s been an eventful week for Lawrence County alum Ahmad Hardy, who was named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year after an outstanding season carrying the ball for the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.

Hardy led all FBHS freshman halfbacks with 1,351 rushing yards in the 2024 regular season. Hardy also scored 13 touchdowns and is only the second Warhawk in program history to win conference freshman of the year.

It looks like it will be one-and-done for Hardy in Monroe though, as he has announced that he will be entering the transfer portal that officially opens on Monday. ULM head coach Bryan Vincent recently praised Hardy, despite his running back moving on for bigger opportunities with several SEC programs being linked to him with transfer interest.

“From the day he got here to the day he left, he gave everything he had to this university, to this football team, and he did it the right way,” said Vincent. “He practiced at an elite level, he was a great teammate, he was a great person, and he represented us first-class. And I’m happy for Ah-mad Hardy, because he did it the right way.”

Hardy was the Daily Leader All-Area Most Valuable Player after his senior season last year at Lawrence County.

A couple of former Copiah-Lincoln CC Wolves also earned All-Sun Belt honors for the War-hawks in defensive lineman Kevontay Wells (Second Team) and defensive lineman Billy Pullen (Third Team). ULM also added another player from Co-Lin on Wednesday with the signing of defensive back Zy Jackson, a product of Hazlehurst High.