Cornerback, USC, 2021–24
Jaylin Smith
- Number
- No. 2
- Height
- 5′11″
- Weight
- 190 lb
- Class (2024)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Palmdale, CA
- Born
- 2003
Wikipedia readers: about 4,555 a month over the past year
Jaylin Smith played cornerback at USC (2021–24). The Houston Texans took Smith in round 3, No. 97 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
12tackles, career highvs. Louisville, 2023Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2024 USC 10 games, 58 tackles, 2 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. LSU | W 27–20 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 21 | at Michigan | L 24–27 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 28 | vs. Wisconsin | W 38–21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 5 | at Minnesota | L 17–24 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 12 | vs. Penn State | L 30–33 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 19 | at Maryland | L 28–29 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 2 | at Washington | L 21–26 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nov 16 | vs. Nebraska | W 28–20 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | at UCLA | W 19–13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 30 | vs. Notre Dame | L 35–49 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 USC 11 games, 69 tackles, 1 sack
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26 | vs. San José State | W 56–28 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2 | vs. Nevada | W 66–14 | 6 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 23 | at Arizona State | W 42–28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 30 | at Colorado | W 48–41 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 7 | vs. Arizona | W 43–41 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | atNotre Dame | L 20–48 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | vs. Utah | L 32–34 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | at California | W 50–49 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | vs.Washington | L 42–52 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 18 | vs.UCLA | L 20–38 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 27 ✦ | vs. Louisville | W 42–28 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 USC 9 games, 38 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. Rice | W 66–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 10 | at Stanford | W 41–28 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs. Fresno State | W 45–17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 24 | at Oregon State | W 17–14 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | vs.Arizona State | W 42–25 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | vs. Washington State | W 30–14 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 15 | atUtah | L 42–43 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 29 | atArizona | W 45–37 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 5 | vs.California | W 41–35 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 USC 6 games, 11 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs.San José State | W 30–7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 18 | atWashington State | W 45–14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 25 | vs.Oregon State | L 27–45 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 23 | atNotre Dame | L 16–31 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 30 | vs.Arizona | W 41–34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 20 | vs.UCLA | L 33–62 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
Played in the 2025 Senior Bowl (National team, lost 19–22).
| Drill | Combine 2025 | Combine or pro day 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 5′10½″ | |
| Weight | 187 lb | |
| Arm length | 29⅞″ | |
| Hand size | 9¼″ | |
| Wingspan | 75¼″ | |
| 40-yard dash | 4.45 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.60 s | |
| Vertical jump | 32½″ | |
| Broad jump | 10′2″ | |
| Bench press | 15 repsW |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
2 seasons, 5 games with a stat; latest team: Houston Texans.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Houston Texans | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 (so far) | Houston Texans | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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