Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-7vs Texas State | 10 | 70 | 7.0 | 0 | 45 | |
| Wk 2 | W 24-23vs Ohio State | 21 | 74 | 3.5 | 2 | 11 | Season-high 74 yds |
| Wk 3 | W 30-6vs UTSA | 10 | 54 | 5.4 | 0 | 18 | |
| Total | 41 | 198 | 5.3 | 2 | 45 |
#2
Daylan Smothers
No.379 4★, national recruit isn't a headline at Texas anymore — it's just what Daylan Smothers reliably is.
5′11″ · 193 lb · Charlotte, NC
CFB Index 60 · #74 of 326 RBsHigh confidenceWatch-list name (model)Transferred NC State → Texas for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
198
rushing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 74 rush yds, 2 TD, 29 rec yds, vs Ohio State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior running back for Texas. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Oklahoma in 2023.
Aura™ · Him Watch
Hype = tape
+6aura tax
Fans rank this player in the 36th percentile of RBs; the tape says
30th pctl our rushing-value metric (wEPA) RBs · 140 qualified, n=22
— the discourse is fair.Aura — fan perception36th pctl
Production — on-field30th pctl
n=22 mentions · cohort: RBs · 140 qualified · perception = conversation volume, production = our rushing-value metric (wEPA)
Buzz vs Tape
Fans hotter than the country
His own fans read him warmer than the wider college football conversation does — a gap of 51.9 points in belief.
31.9own fans
-20national conversation
Also worth knowing:
In Their Words
737 windows · 2026 fan posts
hollywood×193.3smothers×79.0scott×19.9carry×32.8yards×5.8averaging×48.9texas×5.6losing×25.6
“The comeback was mostly thanks to Hollywood Smothers, though. And Texas being able to fumble forward for positive yards.”
reddit/CFB · fan post, verbatim
Daylan Smothers
Filling the Shoesas of 2026-09-22
Daylan Smothers is a cornerstone for Texas — measured against the line he joined.
198RUSH YDS2RUSH TD41CARRIES
4★ · NATIONAL RECRUIT
No.379
recruiting national rank
Read the story so far
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
The week the volume broke through — stacked 1 td vs Campbell.Campbell · W 56-102025
20234 games
- Signed with Oklahoma4-star out of West Charlotte
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
3 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coach2023–2026
Texas
Played his entire career under Steve Sarkisian.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Texas
2025NC State
2026Texas
Career stats
Game log
Game by game
Daylan Smothers's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 24–23
vs Ohio State
74 rush yds (21 car) · 2 TD
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 1 at home.
With A. Manning — 195 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 83.0 · 24 rush yds (8 car) · M. Chiumento — 40.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 43 long
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Texas State · 3&12 · Q3 · EPA +3.27(07:59) No Huddle-Shotgun #16 A.Manning pass complete short right to #2 H.Smothers caught at TXST10, for 13 yards to the TXST00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 07:55, 1ST DOWN #44 G.Spetic kick attempt good (H: #43 M.Chiumento, LS: #47 T.Dubuc)
- Week 1 · Texas State · 3&9 · Q2 · EPA +2.54(11:19) No Huddle-Shotgun #16 A.Manning pass complete short left to #2 H.Smothers caught at TXST48, for 11 yards to the TXST35 (#2 T.Moore), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN, PENALTY TXST Offside declined
- Week 2 · Ohio State · 3&1 · Q4 · EPA +2.45(00:28) #2 H.Smothers rush middle for 1 yard gain to the OSU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:25 #44 G.Spetic kick attempt good (H: #43 M.Chiumento, LS: #47 T.Dubuc)
- Week 2 · Ohio State · 2&1 · Q4 · EPA +1.90(07:17) #2 H.Smothers rush left for 1 yard gain to the OSU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 07:14 #44 G.Spetic kick attempt good (H: #43 M.Chiumento, LS: #47 T.Dubuc)
- Week 1 · Texas State · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.85(12:14) No Huddle #2 H.Smothers rush middle for 45 yards gain to the TXST11 (#1 A.Atwood), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Ohio State · 3&2 · Q2 · EPA +1.83(10:44) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 H.Smothers rush left for 10 yards gain to the OSU43 (#1 E.Little Jr.), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Texas State · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +1.35(13:17) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 H.Smothers rush left for 9 yards gain to the TEXAS48 (#2 T.Moore; #10 C.Nilles)
- Week 2 · Ohio State · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +1.31(01:24) No Huddle-Shotgun #16 A.Manning pass complete short middle to #2 H.Smothers caught at TEX50, for 14 yards to the TEX50 (#6 D.Sanchez), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · UTSA · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -1.22(09:25) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 H.Smothers rush middle for 2 yards loss to the UTSA41 (#23 B.Tucker, Jr.; #26 B.Grays)
- Week 3 · UTSA · 2&7 · Q1 · EPA +1.22(04:11) No Huddle-Shotgun #16 A.Manning pass complete short right to #2 H.Smothers caught at UTSA46, for 11 yards to the UTSA36 (#53 E.Osondu), 1ST DOWN
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +54 rushing yards, +3 catches.
Season context · Team result + system
2023Oklahoma10-3HC: Brent Venables · Balanced
2024NC State6-7HC: Dave Doeren · Balanced, slow tempo
2025NC State8-5HC: Dave Doeren · Balanced
2026Texas3-0HC: Steve Sarkisian · Run-leaning, fast tempo
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
High confidence
Elite: success rate (85th percentile). Strength: rec yards (90th percentile). Concern: carries (11th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (8)
Season trend
Last seasonThis season
EPA / carry
29th → 70th percentile
Success rate
13th → 85th percentile
Explosive rate
78th → 42nd percentile
Yards / carry
81st → 43rd percentile
TD rate
59th → 56th percentile
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
41 of 41 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
52%40 carriesFumble rate
2.4%1 of 41 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds20%of carries
8 carries
Grind
1–3 yds34%of carries
14 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds34%of carries
14 carries
Explosive
10+ yds12%of carries
5 carries
9 of 9 (100%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 2 of 5 (40%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
4.8 yds/carry on 41 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 52% success rate.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 66.0 | 5.3 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 66.0 | 5.3 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Steve Sarkisian
Pass share
45.9%
105 pass / 124 run
Plays / game
76.3
3 games
Team sack rate
3.5%
115 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, fast tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Watch-list name (model)
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Wins in space out of the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
Starter
Returning starter at running back for a 10-3 Texas team that went -6 in the portal.
DNA match
Player DNA
Satellite Back
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
RB
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Dare Ogunbowale’s 2016 season.
86%match
Matches Dare on
Height
Receiving share
Yards / carry
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Dontae Smith's senior season at Georgia Tech (2022).
70%match
Matches Dontae on
Yards / carry
Weight
Yards / reception
Differs from Dontae on
Class year (lower)
EPA / carry (adj) (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Daylan Smothers
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peak #22
Peaked at #22 this season.
The backfield · Texas
- Raleek Brown1,141 rushing yards · 2025
- #2Daylan Smothers939 rushing yards · 2025
- #31James Simon122 rushing yards · 2025
- #21Ryan Niblett15 rushing yards · 2025
- #11Michael Terry III0 rushing yards · 2025
3 more on the roster · Texas team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology