With the news that both Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are off to the NFL Draft and won't return to Notre Dame, there's going to be a totally different look for the Irish ground game. Yes, people are fired up for the Aneyas Williams era to get here, but he's not going to carry things on his own.
Some veteran experience is going to be needed, which is why some Notre Dame fans have been wondering if Marcus Freeman will do some shopping in the transfer portal when it opens up. Enter standout North Carolina State running back Hollywood Smothers?
On Thursday, breaking news came in that the speedster is going to enter the transfer portal once it officially opens up. With the 2023 signee looking so sharp this season, the expectation is several teams are going to work overtime to sign him. Could that list include Notre Dame?
BREAKING: NC State starting RB Hollywood Smothers plans to enter the @TransferPortal, his agent tells @On3Sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 18, 2025
This season he totaled 1,128 yards and 7 TDs
Smothers, who is repped by @bnm_nil, will also explore NFL Draft optionshttps://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/BZPbFwd8tQ
Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman would be wise to go after RB Hollywood Smothers
Make no mistake, losing Price and Love is a huge blow. Love was the best running back in the country this past season and we still think he should have gotten more Heisman Trophy love. Price was a force whenever the ball was in his hands and he's got a bright NFL future too.
So, where does this leave the Irish and Freeman? Williams is an exciting young talent and he too has been waiting patiently for his shot to get more carries in South Bend. This past season, he carried the ball 24 times for 224 yards and five touchdowns, averaging more than nine yards per carry. Yeah, not too bad.
With that said, Smothers can absolutely fly on the gridiron and he's coming off a stellar regular season for the Wolfpack. He carried the ball 160 times for 939 yards and six touchdowns (5.9 yards per carry). Imagine him and Williams leading the rushing attack, with CJ Carr doing his thing throwing the ball around.
It'd be quite special. As we mentioned above, there are going to be plenty of suitors for Smothers, as he's going to be the kind of transfer who can really ignite an offense. If the price is right and Freeman is open to bringing in some outside help, going after Smothers indeed would make a ton of sense for Notre Dame.