Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons²

Harrison Smith

Safety, Minnesota Vikings · #22.

Player facts

Team: Minnesota Vikings
Position: Safety
Number: 22
Born: Feb 2, 1989 (age 37)
Birthplace: Knoxville, TN, USA
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 211 lbs
College: Notre Dame
Experience: 14 seasons
Status: Active

Stats

2026 Defense

	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	FF	FR	YDS	INT	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	PD	STF	STFYDS
Regular Season	7	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	3	0	0
Last 5 Games	7	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	3	0	0
Career	1188	865	323	21.5	13	9	-1	39	510	13.1	4	81	110	40.5	89

Recent games

			Tackles				Fumbles		Interceptions
Date	Opponent	Result	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	FF	FR	INT	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	PD	KB
Sun, Oct 11	@ NO	W 23-13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	0
Sun, Oct 4	vs MIA	W 15-10	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	0
Sun, Sep 27	@ TB	W 23-16	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 20	@ CHI	W 9-3	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 13	vs GB	W 39-22	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	0

Last 5 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

Harrison Smith (born February 2, 1989), nicknamed "the Hitman", is an American professional football safety for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the Vikings in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft with the 29th overall pick.

In 2017, Smith was graded the third-best player in the NFL by Pro Football Focus (PFF). His season grade of 98.8 was also the highest among safeties in PFF history. He was named to his third straight Pro Bowl on January 22, 2018, and was named first-team All-Pro. He followed with a 4th consecutive Pro Bowl in 2019 and second-team All-Pro.

From Wikipedia’s article on Harrison Smith, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Smith attended Knoxville Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. In his senior season, he gained 1,340 yards rushing to go with 19 touchdowns, caught 23 passes for 453 yards and six touchdowns, and also made 61 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, and caused two fumbles on defense. He was named Gatorade Football Player of the Year in Tennessee in 2006.

In addition to football, Smith also played basketball and ran track. In track, he competed primarily as a jumper. In 2007, he won the state meet in the high jump with a height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and the decathlon, scoring 6,230 points; he also won a silver medal in the triple jump (46 ft 1 in (14.05 m)) and a bronze in the long jump (21 ft 8.5 in (6.62 m)). He had a career-best leap of 2.03 meters (6.8 ft) in the high jump.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was listed as the No. 25 athlete in the nation. Many scouts believed he could play offense or defense in college. He chose Notre Dame over numerous Power 5 offers.

College career

After red-shirting as a freshman in 2007, he emerged as a star in 2008. He began his career at linebacker. In his first year, he started 9 games and recorded 57 tackles, which included 8.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. As a junior in 2009, he started six games at strong safety, then strongside linebacker for the final six games. He recorded 69 tackles including 6.5 tackles for loss. In 2010, as a senior, he played strong safety where he recorded 93 tackles including a team-high seven interceptions. In 2011, he was accepted to a graduate program at Notre Dame allowing him to play another season. In his final year in 2011, serving as team captain, he played in and started in all 13 games. He recorded 90 tackles including three tackles for loss.