Another New Texas RB Has Received His Jersey Number

The Texas Longhorns are welcoming a ton of new faces to campus this offseason thanks to both the incoming high school recruiting class and transfer portal additions.

As a result, multiple position groups will look much different from this past season after some major roster turnover.

Most notable among these is the running back room, where three new players are set to have new jersey numbers this upcoming fall.

Texas RB Hollywood Smothers Reveals Jersey Number

Texas Longhorns running back Hollywood Smothers — NC State Wolfpack running back Hollywood Smothers tries to break a tackle attempt by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Joshua Burnham during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

After Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown and five-star true freshman running back Derrek Cooper announced their Texas jersey numbers for next season, NC State transfer Hollywood Smothers has done the same.

Smothers will be wearing No. 2 next season after wearing No. 3 and No. 20 at NC State and No. 7 during his freshman year with the Oklahoma Sooners.

This past season, Texas wide receiver Jaime Ffrench wore No. 2, but after transferring to the Michigan Wolverines, the number became available.

2¡ pic.twitter.com/1MFICPZHPH
— Hollywood Smothers (@h3llywood) February 12, 2026

Texas safety Derek Williams Jr. has worn No. 2 on defense the past three seasons and there's been nothing to indicate that he will be switching for the 2026 campaign.

The Longhorns added Smothers out of the portal last month after playing two seasons at NC State. He had a career-best year this past season, posting 160 carries for 939 yards and six touchdowns along with 37 catches for 189 yards and one score.

Smothers originally committed to Alabama after entering the portal but surprisingly took a trip to Austin and ended up signing with the Longhorns instead, a decision that became public shortly after news broke that Texas had landed Auburn transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman.

Smother told On3 that despite this change of heart, NIL "didn't play a big factor" and that he's focused on being at a place that gives him the best chance to win.

“NIL didn’t play a big factor for me... I honestly just want to win," Smothers told On3. "And I feel like we are in the best position to go win it all with the talent and depth at Texas.”

Smothers and Brown will now form an interesting 1-2 punch at running back next season, with neither player being seen as the uncontested starter at this point. One of them will have to officially start the season opener against Texas State but don't be surprised if this alternates as the year goes on.