Hollywood Smothers is On a Pace to Rewrite NC State’s Record Books

Redshirt sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers is on pace to rewrite NC State’s record books.

Through six games, Smothers has rushed for 693 yards — and at this point, it would be shocking if he didn’t cross the 1,000-yard barrier.

The last NC State player to rush for 1,000 yards was Reggie Gallaspy Jr. in 2018, when he finished with 1,091 yards.

Currently, Smothers is averaging 115.5 yards per game, putting him on pace to finish the regular season with 1,386 rushing yards. That would set a new program record for single-season rushing yards, surpassing the legendary Ted Brown’s 1,350.

After today’s 123-yard performance, Smothers has logged four 100-yard games in six outings. The last Wolfpack running back to record four 100-yard games was, again, Reggie Gallaspy Jr. in 2018. Next on the list for Smothers to match is Nyheim Hines, who had five 100-yard games in 2017.Ted Brown still holds the record for the most 100-yard games in a single season with nine in 1977.

In his two-year career at NC State, Smothers is averaging an audacious 6.69 yards per carry on 189 total attempts (the program requires a minimum of 200 carries to qualify for career records). For context, the current school record for career yards per carry belongs to Zonovan Knight, who averaged 5.46.

The case so far has been to show that Smothers is on pace for one of the best seasons by a running back in NC State history…but what he’s doing is even more significant. Smothers is establishing himself as a college football superstar.

After Week 6, Smothers’ 693 rushing yards rank second nationally, trailing only Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy by 37 yards.