Hollywood Smothers

Smothers is primed to be the top dog in the Wolfpack running back room after largely sharing that title with Jordan Waters last season. Though Waters logged the most carries (95), Smothers finished with the most yards (571) and was also the top receiving threat in the backfield, corralling 19 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns. Now, this should be Smothers' room, one he'll share with a handful of unproven freshmen. Overall, this is an offense that should be trending upwards, and a big reason why is promising mobile quarterback CJ Bailey. Bailey was thrown into the fire as a true freshman last season, but still finished with respectable numbers (2,413 yards, 17 touchdowns, 64.9 completion percentage, as well as 279 rushing yards and five rushing scores). The presence of a dynamic dual-threat in the Wolfpack backfield, especially one who should only improve as a sophomore, bodes well for NC State's running game and Smothers' production as well. Read Past Outlooks