NC State RB Hollywood Smothers to return to Pack in 2025
NC State has been proactive in retaining its key talent ahead of the transfer portal window opening Monday. Redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers announced Thursday evening that he signed a new contract with the 1Pack NIL collective to return to the Wolfpack for another season.
Smothers is the second player to announce a new contract with NC State’s collective as he joined freshman quarterback CJ Bailey, who will remain in Raleigh after he signed Tuesday night.
After he took a few weeks to get rolling in Raleigh following amid-season groin injury, Smothers was an explosive playmaker when he returned to full strength with the Wolfpack.
Smothers logged 74 carries for 432 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, while he added 17 receptions for 221 yards and one touchdown as a receiving back. He was the only Wolfpack player to log more than 100 total yards of offense in multiple games this fall, doing so on four different occasions.
An elusive ball carrier, Smothers also logged 23 total missed tackles forced — 14 as a rusher and nine as a receiver.
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“He’s explosive, but he also has tremendous vision,” NC State running backs coach Todd Goebbel said of Smothers in September. “Hollywood has the natural instinct to find open holes if it’s not blocked perfectly.”
The Charlotte, N.C., native burst onto the scene with his 72-yard reception in a 24-17 loss to Syracuse, which marked his first 100-yard effort of the season as he logged 87 and 18 rushing yards in the defeat. Smothers then followed that up with another standout performance the following weekend with a 41-yard touchdown catch that led to 112 total yards of offense.
Smothers recorded a 100-yard rushing effort against Stanford, which included a pair of touchdown carries, before he ended the regular season with 117 total yards of offense and two rushing scores at UNC.
Now, it seems like Smothers is in Raleigh for the foreseeable future as he looks to build off a solid first season as a consistent contributor at the collegiate level.
