Three College Football Playoff teams linked to 1,000-yard RB in transfer portal

The NCAA transfer portal has opened for all college football players seeking a new destination for the 2026 season. The portal is open for a two-week period that ends on Jan. 16.

In the weeks following the end of the 2025 regular season, thousands of players decided to leave the school they had play for to go to different places in 2026.

While Power Four quarterbacks have been a dominant topic in the weeks leading up to the portal opening, other significant offensive skill players are also shifting across the college football landscape.

One skill player on the move is former NC State running back Hollywood Smothers. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his third school.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder began his college football journey under Brent Venables at Oklahoma in 2023. He played in the maximum four games to maintain his redshirt with the Sooners, logging 42 rush yards on 11 carries and catching a pass for a yard.

Smothers transferred to NC State in the 2024 season. He missed a pair of games due to injury but still ran for 571 yards and six touchdowns while grabbing 19 receptions for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 100 yards in a blowout win over Stanford and in the Military Bowl against East Carolina.

Injuries once again hampered some potential production from Smothers in 2025. He finished with 939 rush yards and six touchdowns to go with 37 catches for 189 yards and another touchdown in 11 games in his last season with the Wolf Pack. He was named All-ACC First Team for his 2025 output.

Smothers' production in the 2025 season has programs across the Power Four landscape vying to acquire him from the transfer portal. Pete Nakos of On3 reported three different participants in the 2025 College Football Playoff are making the heaviest pushes for Smothers on Friday.

Alabama

Jam Miller in the 2025 Iron Bowl. — Alabama Crimson Tide running back Jam Miller (26) runs the ball vs. the Auburn Tigers | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the weaknesses plaguing Alabama in 2025 was the inability to produce on the ground offensively. With Jam Miller's eligibility expiring and Richard Young heading for the transfer portal, the depth at running back is going to thin out for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama has not used the transfer portal to acquire running backs in Kalen DeBoer's two seasons in Tuscaloosa. However, the last time the Crimson Tide went into the portal to find a running back, it catapulted Jahmyr Gibbs to stardom. Gibbs' all-purpose numbers in his final season at Georgia Tech bear some similarity to Smothers' at NC State in 2025.

Georgia

The Bulldogs have shifted to a running back by committee approach in the last six seasons of Kirby Smart's tenure. Injuries have forced Georgia's hand in that philosophy sometimes, but the talent pool in Athens is deep enough each season to where the Bulldogs can feature multiple running backs.

As for the portal, Georgia has acquired a running back each of the past two seasons. The Bulldogs brought in Trevor Etienne (Florida) in the 2024 offseason and Josh McCray (Illinois) in the 2025 offseason. Georgia could be looking at Smothers to add as a rotational piece with its other running backs in 2026.

Ole Miss

Kewan Lacy at the Sugar Bowl. — Mississippi Rebels running back Kewan Lacy (5) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Georgia Bulldogs | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The biggest potential obstacle to Smothers seeing the field at Ole Miss hinges on whether or not AP All-American running back Kewan Lacy stays with the Rebels next season. Lacy has 295 carries on the season for Ole Miss, 266 more than the next man in the Rebels' running back room.

However, should Lacy return, he will not have much depth behind him to give him a breather. Logan Diggs and Damien Taylor are both out of eligibility, so Smothers could fill a rotational need for the Rebels by transferring to Ole Miss in the offseason.