HERO Sports is counting down the days until the kickoff of the 2018 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 25, by featuring the best player in the FBS at each jersey number, from 99-1. Each day, from May 18 through Aug. 24, we'll publish one article showcasing the best player whose jersey number matches the number of days remaining.
[divider]RANKINGS: Top 100 Teams for 2018
TRIVIA: Daily FBS Trivia Question
MORE: Best FCS Player for Each Jersey Number[divider]
No. 35 Cameron Smith, LB — USC
Cameron Smith has long held a dream: Leave college football early for the NFL. After a monster junior season, the USC linebacker had the résumé and potential to make that dream a reality.
He delayed that dream for a year.
“I want to be All-American,” Smith said in March, two months after he officially announced his return, although he said the decision was made (and told to teammates) in November. “Really bad. That’s what I came to do. It didn’t really make sense for me to leave without that.”
Smith narrowly missed AP All-America honors last year, losing out to Josey Jewell, Roquan Smith and T.J. Edwards, after registering 115 tackles, 47 run stops (fifth-most among returning FBS linebackers) 11 tackles for loss and four passes defended. He's the best No. 35 in college football, narrowly edging fellow Pac-12 linebacker and All-America candidate Troy Dye.
"He’s always been very talented," Trojans' defensive coordinator said of Smith, a three-starter. "He can diagnose run-pass. He plays the run game really well, tackle to tackle. And he understands formations."
