JuJu Smith-Schuster

Smith-Schuster was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit and was ranked as the second-best wide receiver in his class and the 24th-best player overall.

He initially decided to attend Oregon, but then announced he would attend the University of Southern California (USC) to play college football under then-head coach Steve Sarkisian during his televised commitment.

During the Vikings game, Smith-Schuster became the youngest NFL player to score a touchdown since running back Andy Livingston in 1964.

John Sherman "JuJu" Smith-Schuster ( Smith; born November 22, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).

He changed his name in football program listings in 2012 from "John" to "JuJu," a nickname an aunt gave him when he was young, and legally changed his last name from "Smith" to "Smith-Schuster" while in college as a tribute to his step-father.

In his youth, Smith-Schuster was coached by Snoop Dogg when he played youth football with the Snoop Youth Football League, where Snoop gave Smith-Schuster the nickname "Sportscenter," telling the boy that he believed one day his highlights would be shown on the flagship ESPN show.

He later attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California, the high school that at that time had the record for sending the most football players to careers in the NFL out of any in the United States.

He played wide receiver and safety for the school's Jackrabbits football team.

Smith-Schuster earned immediate playing time as a true freshman in 2014.

In his first career game, he had four receptions for 123 yards against Fresno State in the 52–13 victory.

Against the Washington State Cougars, he had six receptions for 74 yards and three touchdowns in the 44–17 victory.

He finished the 2014 season with 54 receptions for 724 yards and five touchdowns.

He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning second-team All-American honors in 2015.

As a sophomore in 2015, Smith-Schuster played 14 games with a career-high 1,454 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

As a junior in 2016 the Trojans used Smith-Schuster less.

He played in 13 games with 914 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

That year he also helped the Trojans to a victory in the Rose Bowl over the Penn State Nittany Lions, catching seven passes for 133 yards and a receiving touchdown over the course of the game.

After the 2016 season, Smith-Schuster announced on Twitter that he had decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2017 NFL Draft, before signing with sports agency Roc Nation.

Fellow USC alum Lynn Swann said of Smith-Schuster's pro-potential based upon his college career, "He's got the size. He's got the strength. He's got the attitude ... In Juju, you've got a guy who's got the kind of versatility you might be looking for."

Though he left before graduation, Smith-Schuster later returned to take summer courses at USC in order to work towards finishing his university degree.

Smith-Schuster received an invitation to the NFL Combine and performed nearly all of the combine drills and positional drills except for the three-cone drill and short shuttle.

He opted to attend USC's Pro Day and performed the short shuttle and three-cone drill.

In addition, he performed the vertical and broad jump and improved his combine number on both.

The Dallas Cowboys were the only team to hold a private workout with Smith-Schuster and showed heavy interest in him.

He was ranked as the fourth best wide receiver in the draft by Sports Illustrated and ESPN, and ninth by NFLDraftScout.com and draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

During the 2022 season, Smith-Schuster won Super Bowl LVII during his only season with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Smith-Schuster is the holder of several NFL records, including being the youngest player to reach 2,500 career receiving yards and the first player to have two offensive touchdowns of at least 97 yards.

He also holds several Steelers franchise records.

Off the field, he is also known for his social media presence and affinity for TikTok, which has earned him the nickname TikTok Boy.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Smith-Schuster in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.

He was the youngest player selected in the 2017 Draft and was the 13th USC wide receiver drafted in the last 15 years.

On May 17, 2017, the Steelers signed him to a four-year, $4.19 million contract with $1.84 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.19 million.

Smith-Schuster entered training camp competing with Sammie Coates, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Eli Rogers, Marcus Tucker, and Justin Hunter to be the Steelers' third option at wide receiver on their depth chart.

He was named the sixth wide receiver on the Steelers' depth chart to begin the regular season behind Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Heyward-Bey, Rogers, and Hunter.

Smith-Schuster made his NFL debut in the Steelers' season-opening victory over the Cleveland Browns and was credited with his first career start as a kick returner, returning one kick for four yards.

When Smith-Schuster made his debut, he was the youngest player in the NFL.

In Week 2, Smith-Schuster recorded his first career reception and caught his first career touchdown on a four-yard pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, as the Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 26–9.

In 2019, Smith-Schuster was ranked by Sports Business Daily as one of the NFL's most marketable players.

Smith-Schuster began playing football at the age of eight.