Background and career
Jaylon Smith (born June 14, 1995) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the interim head coach coach of North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected 34th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Smith attended Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track. In football, he won the Butkus Award as a senior, given to the best high school linebacker in the country, and was named the Mr. Football award winner for the state of Indiana. He helped Bishop Luers to a 40–28 win over Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter in the 2012 Indiana 2A title game while rushing for 150 yards and scoring three touchdowns, as Bishop Luers became first Indiana 2A school to win four straight state titles. He finished with 1,265 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 176 attempts as senior in 2012 to go with 10 receptions for 66 yards and two more touchdowns. Defensively, he recorded 72 tackles (43 solo), 19.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and seven pass deflections. In basketball, he played as a freshman, sophomore and junior, and was teammates with former Ohio State basketball player Deshaun Thomas. In track & field, Smith competed in events ranging from the relays to the shot put as a senior. At the 2013 IHSAA T&F Sectional, he took fourth in the shot put, with a PR of 14.81 meters (48 ft 6 in), and ran the lead leg on first-place 4 × 100 m (43.43) and fourth leg on second-place 4 × 400 m (3:27.08). At the 2013 SAC T&F Meet, he anchored the Bishop Luers' 4 × 100 m relay team, winning the event with a time of 42.91 seconds, and the 4 × 400 m, which finished in third place, while also placing third in the shot put (47 ft 5 in) and eight in the 400-meter dash (53.46 s). Smith signed his letter of intent on February 6, 2013, and committed to attend and play football at the University of Notre Dame. He was considered the best outside linebacker recruit of his class by Rivals.com and Scout.com. He played in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
In 2013, Smith won the starting DOG linebacker position beating out Ben Councell, after incumbent starter Danny Spond had to retire due to migraine issues. Starting all 13 games, he recorded 67 tackles, including 6.5 for loss, one forced fumble, three pass break ups and one interception. His best game came in a 34–30 victory against Arizona State, where he recorded nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss. He notched his first career interception against USC on a pass thrown by Cody Kessler. With the arrival of new defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, he was moved to an inside linebacker position in 2014. He was one of three players to start all 13 games on defense, recording 112 tackles, including nine for loss, and 3.5 sacks, adding two pass breakups and one forced fumble. He was named the FBS Independent Co-Defensive Player of the Year, along with teammate Joe Schmidt IV and was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press. During his junior year in 2015, Smith played in all 13 games with 115 tackles, nine tackles for loss, one sack, five passes defended, two fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble. He won the Butkus Award, given annually to college football's top linebacker. During the Fiesta Bowl game against Ohio State, Smith suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and left the game. It was confirmed that the knee was diagnosed with tears to the ACL and LCL. He underwent successful knee surgery on both ligaments on January 7, 2016. On January 11, 2016, Smith announced he would forego his remaining eligibility and enter the 2016 NFL draft.
Prior to his injury in the Fiesta Bowl, Smith was projected to be a top-five pick in the 2016 NFL draft. On January 11, 2016, Smith released a statement through Twitter announcing his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2016 NFL Draft. Smith attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in order to meet with teams, but was unable to participate in workouts due to his injury. On April 14, 2016, Smith was one of multiple prospects to undergo extensive medical evaluations as multiple teams were worried about the possibility of nerve damage. He received tests to objectively measure his nerve function. Smith attended a pre-draft visit with the San Francisco 49ers. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, NFL draft experts and scouts projected Smith to be selected as early as the second round to as late as the sixth round. The majority of NFL draft experts projected him to be a third- or fourth-round pick. He was ranked the 10th best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked the 11th best linebacker by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.
The Dallas Cowboys selected Smith in the second round (34th overall) of the 2016 NFL draft. The Cowboys selected Smith after they unsuccessfully tried to trade their second (34th overall) and third round (67th overall) draft choices to move back into the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft to select quarterback Paxton Lynch. The selection of Smith by the Dallas Cowboys surprised many observers and the media as they gambled on Smith's ability to return from his serious left knee injury he suffered in his last college game. Smith was operated on by the Dallas Cowboys’ doctor, Dan Cooper. Smith was the fourth linebacker drafted in 2016.
On May 20, 2016, the Dallas Cowboys signed Smith to a four-year, $6.49 million contract that includes $4.42 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.92 million. Jared Dubin, a CBS Sports writer, stated in an article posted to CBSSports.com on June 29, 2016, that "The Cowboys are confident in their diagnosis because it was their team physician that did Smith's surgery." He also went on to point out that, since the team's physician was the one to do the surgery, the Cowboys had more up-to-date information than other teams. Dubin then continued by saying that the Cowboys were in dire need of a superstar like Jaylon Smith, and that they could not afford to lose such a valuable prospect. As expected, Smith was inactive for the entire 2016 NFL season as he recovered from his torn ACL and MCL.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
