With the 62nd pick in the 2017 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select John Smith, wide receiver, USC.
That’s how Franco Harris would’ve announced the pick if it weren’t for JuJu Smith-Schuster’s aunt.
Not many people know that Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was born John Smith.
“Growing up, I had an auntie who called me ‘choo-choo’ because I used to play with trains all the time,” Smith-Schuster explained on The Michael Irvin Podcast. “It kinda turned into JuJu.”
“So people called me JuJu, my teachers, my professors. Some people, my fans, don’t even know my real name.”
Smith-Schuster said when people find out his real name is John Smith, they say, “No way!”
“In tests, like in the ACT and SATs, they use John Smith as an answer option,” he said, laughing.
Smith-Schuster hyphenated his name when he turned 18 to honor his stepfather, Lawrence Schuster, who was a father figure in a way his biological father was not.
It’s hard to imagine now watching No. 19 in games and hearing announcers saying, “What an amazing catch by John Smith!!”
