Texas RB Hollywood Smothers Faces "Legitimate Concern" of Missing Tennessee Game

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns are officially beginning their nine-game SEC slate with a road matchup against No. 14 Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday.

However, Texas faces some notable injury questions ahead of kickoff at Neyland Stadium.

While Longhorns fans have already gotten the good news they were hoping for regarding the availability of star edge rusher Colin Simmons, Texas running back Hollywood Smothers remained questionable on the second SEC injury report released Thursday evening.

Though his status is still up in the air, reports are indicating Smothers has a chance of missing the game entirely.

Texas RB Hollywood Smothers Uncertain to Play vs. Tennessee

Texas Longhorns running back Hollywood Smothers (2) warms up before a game against the UTSA Roadrunners at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Smothers faces "legitimate concern" of missing Saturday's game against Tennessee as he continues to recover from a lower-leg injury, according to reports from Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.

This would pave the way for Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown to start for Texas with true freshman Derrek Cooper set to have a significant role right behind him.

"No final determination made at this point but the status of Smothers is very much in question," Zenitz wrote on X.

In the win over UTSA, Smothers finished with 10 carries for 54 yards along with two catches for 11 yards. He never went down with an obvious injury and didn't take a trip to the locker room before the game ended.

There’s legitimate concern that Texas standout running back Hollywood Smothers could end up missing the Longhorns’ game against No. 14 Tennessee, sources tell @CBSSports.

No final determination made at this point but the status of Smothers (lower leg) is very much in question. pic.twitter.com/esxerYgtqE
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) September 25, 2026

This made it a surprise for Texas fans when Smothers suddenly appeared on the initial Texas-Tennessee injury report released on Wednesday. While many were expecting to see players like Justus Terry, Nick Townsend and Xavier Filsaime -- all of whom have already been ruled out for the game -- to appear on the injury report, Smothers' inclusion came out of nowhere.

But Texas is better prepared than most teams when it comes to dealing with the potential absence of a starting running back.

The Longhorns added Smothers and Brown out of the portal knowing both would bring starting-caliber talent to the backfield. Smothers eventually won the starting job during fall camp, but make no mistake: Brown remains heavily involved in the Texas game plan with or without Smothers.

It's no secret that Texas would be losing a major piece of its goal-line offense if Smothers is ruled out. In the comeback win over Ohio State, he had a pair of one-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter, which was highlighted by the game-tying score with 25 seconds left that then allowed Texas to take the lead on the ensuing extra point.

Through the first three games of his Texas career, Smothers has tallied 41 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns along with seven catches for 54 yards and another score.

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