The first USC player to hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft is in, and it's a local standout who spent his entire career with the Trojans. Jaylin Smith is headed to Houston after being selected in the third round by the Texans at No. 97 overall Friday night.

The Palmdale native put together an impressive career with the Trojans across four seasons. In all, Smith collected 182 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions and 5 pass breakups in 43 games.

He made 32 starts in four years for the Trojans including 10 in 2024. Smith tied the team lead with 2 interceptions as a senior to go along with 4 tackles for loss and 2 pass breakups.

USC has now had 14 defensive backs selected in the NFL draft since 2010 with eight of those players being selected in the first three rounds.

It marks the second consecutive year that the Trojans have had a player selected by the Texans after the franchise picked Solomon Byrd in the seventh round in 2024.

USC continues to be one of the top programs for churning out NFL talent with the Trojans and Michigan standing as the only schools to have a player selected in every draft since 1939.

The Trojans have the longest active streak of having a player selected in the first three rounds of the draft with the streak now at 24 years.