Why do they call him JuJu Smith-Schuster? Where does the nickname JuJu come from?
Christopher Ramos
Published Jan 06, 2026
A wide receiver for the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs in American football (NFL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft after playing college football for USC.
Why do they call him JuJu Smith-Schuster? Where does the nickname JuJu come from?
Smith-Schuster was reared in Long Beach, California, and is of African American and Samoan origin. He considers himself to be a Christian and is the second oldest of seven kids.
Johnny Nansen, his cousin, once served as USC’s assistant coach. When Smith-Schuster was just a few months old, his aunt gave him the moniker “JuJu.” Before choosing to call him “JuJu,” she called him “John-John.” So’omalo is his only biological sister, and their father had little involvement in their lives.
When Smith-Schuster was four years old, his mother Sammy (Toa) met his stepfather Lawrence Schuster.
After turning 18 and adding the Schuster in honor of his stepfather, Smith-Schuster legally hyphenated his last name. Smith-Schuster claims that he was a USC fan growing up and that Nelson Agholor, Marqise Lee, and Robert Woods were his role models among wide receivers.
Snoop Dogg tutored Smith-Schuster when he was a young player in the Snoop Youth Football League. Snoop gave Smith-Schuster the nickname “Sportscenter” and told the youngster that he thought someday his highlights would air on the main ESPN program.
