USC countdown to kickoff: Recalling Trojans OL Tyron Smith

Countdown to kickoff returns as USC opens its 2026 season on August 29 against San Jose State at the Coliseum, with a feature that honors a notable Trojan for each jersey number. Today’s focus is Tyron Smith, a future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee who starred on the offensive line from 2008 to 2010. He served as a backup tackle as a true freshman in 2008, earned the starting right tackle job as a sophomore, and in his junior year was named first-team All-Pac-12 and won the Morris Trophy as the conference’s top lineman. Smith declared for the 2011 NFL draft, was selected ninth overall by Dallas, and then enjoyed a 14-season NFL career—13 with Dallas and one with the Jets—earning eight Pro Bowls and five All-Pro honors before retiring in April 2025; he is widely viewed as a likely Hall of Fame entrant.