Florida State fans are wondering how well the coaching staff will do in the transfer portal. They have already lined up a couple of visitors and had one lined up from a star running back in the ACC, NC State’s Hollywood Smothers.
The news excited FSU fans because Smothers is a dynamic back who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards for the NC State Wolfpack in 2025, while battling injuries for a few games.
He returned from an injury to rush for 84 yards on 21 carries late in the season against NC State. A player like Smothers teaming up with Ousmane Kromah and Sam Singleton would have given FSU a three-headed monster. However, that’s not gonna happen now, because Smothers will not visit FSU:
An update: NC State running back transfer Hollywood Smothers is no longer expected to visit Florida State, @CBSSports has learned https://t.co/p6TiHq5Mt3 pic.twitter.com/88UAKuIj5w
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 3, 2026
A running back like Smothers will probably cost a decent amount of money, and FSU already has two solid options with Kromah and Singleton. They also have four-star signee Amare Thomas joining the program for 2026. There are more high-priorities than the running back position, and FSU can use it to help obtain a quality quarterback, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, or linebackers.
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They may take another running back from the portal, but it’ll likely be someone without the high price tag. I don’t mind that, because they are paying Kromah a lot of money and need to see that return on investment big-time in 2026. This isn’t an instance of FSU being cheap, but more about making good financial decisions on filling weaknesses with quality players. Stay tuned to Chopchat for more transfer portal news and analysis.