Fresh Faces on the Forty: NC State star RB Hollywood Smothers
We continue our “Fresh Faces on the Forty” series with Hollywood Smothers . Smothers comes to Austin from NC State, with a small pit-stop in Tuscaloosa before flipping his commitment to the Longhorns. Raleek Brown, as we talked about yesterday , is a danger to score any time he touches the ball. The same applies for Smothers, who notched four 50+ yard runs in 2025, three going for scores.
2025 Stats:160 carries, 939 rushing yards(5.9 yards per carry), 6 TDs
Smothers, like Brown, bring that explosivity to the table. The one area Smothers separates himself from his running mate is yards after contact. Raleek Brown runs plenty tough for his size, but Smothers averaged 4.3 yards after contact per carry while Brown went for just 3.0. That could give Longhorn fans an answer to the question: Who’s going to be the short yardage back?
Many people didn’t expect the Longhorns to go after a RB like Smothers after the signing for Raleek Brown, but the pairing opens some interesting doors. The two have many abilities in common, which can not only prevent some playcalling predictability but also it gives Sarkisian the ability to run two RB sets without sacrificing receiving ability. Smothers, like Brown, is strong as a receiver out of the backfield, racking up nearly 500 receiving yards in his career.
One of the interesting dynamics with this transfer is Smothers actually started his career in Norman as a Sooner. He only got 12 touches his freshman year and didn’t play in Red River so he made his way to Raleigh, where he became a star. He totalled over 300 touches, nearly 2,000 total yards and 15 TDs in just two years for the Wolfpack , gaining comparisons to current Detroit Lions star, Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Raleek Brown addition gave the Longhorn run game a higher ceiling. The Hollywood Smothers addition gives them a higher floor, which is vastly more important. The OL continues to be a relative question mark heading into next season, but it’s undeniable the Longhorns upgraded their unit in the backfield. The RB duo of Brown and Smothers could not only be the best in the SEC, but possibly the best in the country if the OL can find its footing early.
That wraps up the “box office” names for the Longhorns portal class. Cam Coleman, Raleek Brown and Smothers are the remarkable playmakers Texas was missing in 2025. However, they are FAR from the most important additions Steve Sarkisian was able to make. Tomorrow we will get into an addition that might’ve not had you jumping for joy, but could fundamentally change the Texas run game: new Longhorn TE Michael Masunas.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas Football transfer profile: NC State RB Hollywood Smothers
