Hollywood Smothers Brings Exactly What The Texas Longhorns Need to The Running Game

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian was hit with a daunting task at the beginning of the offseason following the 2025 season, having to fill the void that running backs Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter left when they announced they would be transferring out of Austin.

However, the task was nothing too tall for the coach, as he was able to grab two running backs that filled those gaps in perfectly, one being Arizona State back Raleek Brown and the other coming from the North Carolina State Wolfpack, Daylan "Hollywood" Smothers.

Brown was a part of an 8-5 season with the Sun Devils and served as a solid replacement after Cam Skattebo was drafted, but it's Smothers that many see as the key for the Burnt Orange in 2026.

"Hollywood" Comes To Texas

Texas Longhorns running back Hollywood Smother — NC State Wolfpack running back Hollywood Smothers (3) carries the football against Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Justin Scott (5) during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

For those that are wondering, "what exactly is Texas getting out of this guy?" Brooks Austin, AKA on YouTube as "The Film Guy," gave a thorough breakdown answering that very question.

You can watch it in its entirety here:

The first piece of film that Austin observed was Smothers' performance against Wake Forest, where Smothers turned in a season-high 164 yards on the ground during the 34-24 NC State victory, and even his diverse set of skills had Austin at a loss for words.

"I really don't know how I would classify the skill set of this running back," Austin said. "He's about 5'11, about 205 (pounds), tough to bring down, but not a jitterbug. He will run all over you, but won't pull away from you, y'know what I mean? I think we're a well-balanced 5'11, 205-pound running back."

Austin put heavy praise on the physicality of Smothers' running style, picking up a lot of what he called "dirty yards."

"Two words, dirty yards. When the spaces are tight, when the creases are not there, we gotta stick our body weight behind our pads," said the content creator. "We gotta run with some intensity, and we gotta pick up some dirty yards. (He's) violent inside that box."

Austin also drew attention to one play in particular that highlighted the back's deception in the backfield in an attempt to throw pursuing linebackers off their rhythm.

"What I think he's doing is messing with pursuit players," Austin said. "If those players see square shoulders and eyes this way, they're more liable to unzip their feet and slow down because it might be getting cut and creased back towards them."

Smothers toted the rock 160 times for 939 yards and six touchdowns for the Wolfpack in 2025, and turned in a 571-yard campaign with the same number of scores in 2024.

And after originally transferring to the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Charlotte native switched up and decided on the 40 Acres instead.

The running back will also look to stick it to another old team of his, the Oklahoma Sooners, when the Red River Rivalry takes place in October, as Smothers only logged 42 yards during his freshman year in Norman.

Smothers and the Longhorns kick off their first season together at DKR on September 5 against the Texas State Bobcats.