Alabama football loses Hollywood Smothers transfer to Texas: What it means
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Alabama football no longer has the top ACC running back in the fold.
Hollywood Smothers, who initially announced he’d transferred to the Crimson Tide from NC State, reportedly flipped his transfer to Texas with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Transferring to NC State in 2024, Smothers was one of two running backs with at least 89 carries, recording 571 yards rushing and six touchdowns, while adding 263 yards receiving and two touchdown receptions. He averaged 7.7 yards per touch.
“He’s going to put on a show for you,” former West Charlotte High School football coach Sam Greiner told The Tuscaloosa News of Smothers. “When he gets around this supporting cast that they have, I’m telling you, he’s going to be up for the Heisman race. You’ll see.”
While four backs had at least 100 yards for the Wolfpack in 2025, Smothers, 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, was the featured option, recording 1,128 all-purpose yards and seven scores while averaging 5.7 yards per play.
What Hollywood Smothers decision means for Alabama football
Alabama is back to square one after finishing with one of the worst run games in the SEC in 2025.
Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley and AK Dear are each expected back with the Crimson Tide with Jam Miller graduating.
The biggest addition for Alabama is five-star Ezavier Crowell, the highest-ranked running back in the state in recent memory.
“We can run the ball,” Crowell told the Tuscaloosa News in October. “I think coach (Ryan) Grubb knows what he’s doing, being like when we need to run the ball, we can run the ball.”
Alabama also added Huntsville three-star back Trae’shawn Brown in the 2026 recruiting class.
The Crimson Tide combined for one of its worst run offenses in program history, averaging 104.13 yards per game and 3.35 yards per rush in 2025. An additional back to the room in 2026 is still expected even with the loss of Smothers.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football loses Hollywood Smothers transfer to Texas
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