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Former Oklahoma RB Reveals New School

Daylan Smothers sat out his senior year of high school and had a few bumpy moments early in his stay with the Sooners, but now has a new home.
John E. Hoover|
Former Oklahoma RB Reveals New School
Former Oklahoma RB Reveals New School

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Oklahoma Sooners

Daylan Smothers is going home.

The former Oklahoma running back came to Norman from Charlotte, NC, and it was reported Tuesday night that Smothers will be returning to his home state to play at North Carolina State.

The news was first reported by On3.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Smothers played in just four games for the Sooners as a true freshman in 2023. He rushed 11 times for 42 yards and caught one pass for one yard.

He announced on Dec. 4 he would be entering the transfer portal.

Smothers was an ESPN and Rivals 4-star prospect and was rated as a 3-star by 247 Sports and On3. ESPN ranked him as the No. 12 running back in the nation, while Rivals tabbed him as No. 15 nationally among high school running backs in the 2023 class.

Smothers was named North Carolina Mr. Football as a sophomore in 2020 and received the honor again in 2021 as he rushed for 1,206 yards and 12 touchdowns and followed that up with 1,581 yards and 28 TDs.

But he had to sit out his senior year after an eligibility issue surfaced as he transferred for the 2022 season.

Smothers enrolled early at OU, starting classes last January and competing in spring practice, but his preseason was rocky as he temporarily left the team and flew home before eventually returning.

OU’s running back room has taken some personnel hits, with Smothers, walk-on Tawee Walker and senior Marcus Major leaving via the transfer portal — and yet still appears stacked in 2024, as leading rusher Gavin Sawchuk is back for his third season and will be joined by No. 1 running back recruit Taylor Tatum and talented freshman Xavier Robinson. The Sooners also bring back 2023 freshman Kalib Hicks and junior Jovantae Barnes, who rushed for 550 yards as a true freshman in 2022.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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