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Texas Running Back Hollywood Smothers Out for the Season With a Torn MCL

Reports on Thursday said the NC State transfer tore his MCL in the win over Mississippi State. He is the second Texas offensive starter lost for the year, days before the trip to Missouri.

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Texas Running Back Hollywood Smothers Out for the Season With a Torn MCL

Key points

  • Texas running back Daylan "Hollywood" Smothers will miss the rest of the 2026 season with a torn MCL, according to reports that landed on Thursday, November 5.
  • Smothers was hurt in the second half of Texas's 31-3 win over Mississippi State on October 31.
  • It was his first game back.

Texas running back Daylan "Hollywood" Smothers will miss the rest of the 2026 season with a torn MCL, according to reports that landed on Thursday, November 5. On3's Pete Nakos reported first that Smothers would not play again this season. ESPN carried the same news, and 247Sports' Eric Henry confirmed the injury as a torn MCL. Texas has not announced a timetable beyond ruling him out of this week's game.

Smothers was hurt in the second half of Texas's 31-3 win over Mississippi State on October 31. He took a hard hit to his lower body, sat on the turf holding his left knee, and was helped off the field by trainers, unable to put weight on the leg.

It was his first game back. Smothers had missed the games against Tennessee and Ole Miss with injuries, and in his return he carried the ball just four times for minus 6 yards before he went into the medical tent against Mississippi State. Texas had already listed him as out for Saturday's game at Missouri in its Wednesday and Thursday SEC availability reports.

What Texas loses

Smothers finishes the season with 69 carries for 283 yards and two rushing touchdowns in six games, plus 10 catches for 79 yards and another touchdown. He arrived from NC State as one of the top running backs in the 2026 transfer class, after rushing for 939 yards and seven touchdowns for the Wolfpack last season, and he opened this season as the Longhorns' starter.

He is the second notable Texas offensive player lost for the year, after starting left tackle Trevor Goosby. The injury list around him is still long. Wide receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo, two of quarterback Arch Manning's main targets, were listed as questionable for the Missouri game on the Thursday availability report.

Brown takes over the backfield

Raleek Brown, who shared the rotation with Smothers, now becomes the clear starter in the Texas backfield. Texas came in at No. 7 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, released on Tuesday, which would give the Longhorns a first round home game if the season ended now. The Longhorns play at Missouri on Saturday, November 7, with kickoff at noon Eastern in Columbia, and they still have LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M left on the schedule after that.

Timeline

  1. Oct 31, 2026Smothers is hurt in the second half of Texas's 31-3 win over Mississippi State, in his first game back from earlier injuries.
  2. Nov 5, 2026Reports from On3, ESPN and 247Sports say Smothers will miss the rest of the season with a torn MCL.
  3. Nov 7, 2026Texas plays at Missouri without Smothers, with Raleek Brown as the clear starter in the backfield.

Sources