JuJu Smith-Schuster drafted by Steelers in second round

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster became the second USC player selected in the 2017 NFL Draft on Friday, as the Pittsburgh Steelers took last season’s leading Trojan pass catcher in the second round — No. 62 overall.

The Long Beach, Calif. native recorded 3,092 receiving yards in three seasons at USC, seventh-most in program history. Smith-Schuster became the first Trojan wideout drafted since Nelson Agholor went No. 20 overall to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015.

Smith-Schuster announced his arrival at USC as a true freshman in 2014. Smith-Schuster — back then simply JuJu Smith — reeled in four catches for 123 yards in his collegiate debut against Fresno State, and he would go on to finish the season with 714 yards and five touchdowns through the air, which were both second most on the team.

He followed that season up by almost doubling his aerial output as a sophomore. Bearing a new name, Smith-Schuster racked up 1,454 receiving yards — the seventh-highest single-season total in USC history — en route to first-team All Pac-12 honors. He closed the book on his Trojan career with a 914-yard year in his junior season, making a key late catch against Penn State in USC’s late Rose Bowl rally. His 10 touchdown catches made up almost a third of the Trojans’ total last year.

Smith-Schuster went 44 picks after former teammate Adoree’ Jackson was selected No. 18 overall in the first round on Thursday. The 6-foot-2, 216-pound receiver will join Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Sammie Coates and Eli Rogers on the Steelers’ crowded receiver corps.