The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MAY/JUNE 2025 ■ 39 2024 season, amassing 834 yards from scrimmage and scoring 8 touchdowns. He totaled 571 yards on the ground, forcing 34 missed tackles and racking up 13 carries of 15 or more yards, per Pro Football Focus. Smothers' first season with Carter- Finley Stadium as his home venue proved to be a learning experience for the tail- back, who appeared in just four games in his lone season at Oklahoma. "I didn't really play until the back end of the season, so just knowing what it took and knowing what we needed … I feel very confident going into this year," Smothers said. "I had a good couple of games to fin- ish out, to get more comfortable at game speed. I'm excited for this year." While his final six games, during which he carried 63 times for 439 yards and 5 touchdowns, were a surprise to some, he didn't catch any of his teammates off guard with his late-season surge. "I knew he was going to do it," redshirt junior offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak said. "That's my brother. We talk, letting each other know what we're going to do and the goals for the season. When they do it, I just smile because I knew it was going to happen." On The Move With spring practice in the books and summer workouts ahead, Smothers is fo- cused on building upon his performance last season. He'll enter preseason camp as the Wolfpack's top running back, and it isn't just his spot on the depth chart that has him feeling good about how the future is shaping up. Smothers is also relishing the oppor- tunity to be in the same program for con- secutive seasons. He transferred from Chambers to West Charlotte for his senior year before going to Oklahoma and then NC State. That was four different schools in four years between the two levels. It was a con- stant whirlwind of change, but looking back on it, Smothers said he believes it might have actually been good for him in the long run. "I think everything happens for a rea- son," he said. "With the changes, I always had to figure out how to adjust and fig- ure out what's best for me, just really be where my feet are, and just trust the pro- cess. Sometimes change is good and gives us a new state of mind." As Smothers prepares for his second year at NC State, this offseason isn't being spent on getting to know his teammates or the university's traditions. He has all that down. Instead, he's devoting his full attention to improving himself — and the rest of the offense — going into a pivotal 2025 campaign. "I built bonds this past year with a lot of guys, so this year is going to be a great year for me," Smothers said. "I'm step- ping into a leadership role because I've been here the past year. I got to learn a lot from last year." Continual Growth Smothers, who will wear jersey No. 3 this season after donning No. 20 last year, said his main area of growth has been eye discipline as a ball carrier. He also wants to improve his ability to read a defense before the snap — both on- coming blitzes and pass-coverage ten- dencies. Smothers displayed his potential in the latter half of the 2024 season, flash- ing the same skill set Roper watched in person when he was trying to recruit the tailback to NC State four years ago. Now, the Wolfpack offensive coordi- nator believes the sky is the limit for Smothers, who will be in just his second full collegiate season. Roper can still remember his first im- pressions of Smothers after watching him at Chambers, where he played in three state championship games and combined to rush for 2,787 yards and score 40 touchdowns his last two sea- sons. "I came away really realizing how much more physical he was as a football player," Roper said. "The speed and the ability to score from a long way away jumped out at you. But you also found out how tough he was and how physical he was as a football player. "I just think he's going to keep getting better." ■ Hollywood Smothers Game-By-Game 2024 Opponent Rush Yds. TD Long Rec. Yds. TD Long Western Carolina 3 39 0 25 0 0 0 0 Tennessee 6 25 0 15 3 1 0 4 Louisiana Tech 5 9 0 6 0 0 0 0 at Clemson 8 41 1 21 0 0 0 0 Northern Illinois DNP Wake Forest DNP Syracuse 4 18 0 10 3 87 0 72 at California 7 25 0 8 6 87 1 41 Stanford 16 100 2 52 0 0 0 0 Duke 5 13 0 15 1 4 0 4 at Georgia Tech 7 79 1 53 1 8 0 8 at North Carolina 13 83 2 21 3 34 0 22 East Carolina 15 139 0 44 2 42 1 33 Totals 89 571 6 53 19 263 2 72