As everyone knows by now, Texas had an unbelievably good transfer portal haul this year, with guys like Cam Coleman, Hollywood Smothers, Raleek Brown, and Melvin Siani heading to Austin for 2026.
Though Brown is one of the most explosive players in college football with the ball in his hands, Hollywood Smothers should be the player dominating early-down carries for Steve Sarkisian and Co. this year on offense.
As the lead back for North Carolina State in 2025, Smothers rushed for 939 yards, 5.9 ypc, and 6 TDs in 11 games. He also caught 37 passes for 189 receiving yards and 1 TD for the Wolfpack as C.J. Bailey's main safety valve out of the backfield.
He's very productive running inside between the tackles due to his patience and vision. Very few runners in college football have the type of lane recognition that he does, and it allows him to identify slower-developing holes on inside/split-zone plays.
That being said, let's dive into where Smothers ranks among other in-conference ball-carriers right now:
Early SEC RB Rankings for 2026
1. Ahmad Hardy - Missouri
2. Jadan Baugh - Florida
3. Kewan Lacy - Ole Miss
4. Nate Frazier - Georgia
5. Hollywood Smothers - Texas
6. DeSean Bishop - Tennessee
7. Jeremiah Cobb - Auburn
8. Rueben Owens II - Texas A&M
9. Sedrick Alexander - Vanderbilt
10. Sutton Smith - Arkansas
11. Ezavier Crowell - Alabama
12. Caden Durham - LSU
13. Fluff Bothwell - Mississippi State
14. C.J. Baxter - Kentucky
15. Xavier Robinson - Oklahoma
16. Matt Fuller - South Carolina
No.5 feels about right for Smothers as Ahmad Hardy, Jadan Baugh, Kewan Lacy, and Nate Frazier are all premier-level running backs right now. All of them have already been extremely productive in the SEC as well.