By: Craig Peters
Harrison Smith donned the custom black hat with brown trim — and a feather — he had made two days prior and rounded up his belongings.
Several hours earlier, he had strolled down a ramp with a small backpack placed atop a carry-on roller bag, casually arriving for his 185th regular-season start (186th NFL game) and second ever in his home state of Tennessee.
He left the locker room in Nashville with two souvenirs of the eight-lace variety.
One football was a deepened brown, having been conditioned by the Titans equipment staff to the liking of quarterback Will Levis.
A piece of white athletic tape provided the space for the Vikings equipment staff to note the details of the interception — 1:50 remained in the 23-13 win by Minnesota.
It was the 36th football Smith has taken from an opponent with an interception in his storied career.
The other football was waxy fresh, having just been presented by Head Coach Kevin O'Connell in recognition of the 35-year-old's impact on the game with three tackles, two passes defensed and that game-sealing pick in a city known for picking six strings.
Just as nonchalantly as he'd entered the venue and tracked the deep shot by Levis with a smooth grab, Smith comfortably managed carrying both footballs until giving the intercepted football to an uncle at the game.
When asked about the pick, Smith admitted he was "kind of mad at myself for not getting that one earlier," on a deep heave that the safety got one hand on to break it up but could not complete the catch. At the end of the play, Smith laid motionless on the turf for a few seconds — almost to the point of causing concern.
Instead, he lay prone in tribute to former teammate Eric Kendricks, who incidentally returned an interception 77 yards for a touchdown in Minnesota's previous trip to Tennessee (Week 1 of 2016).
"He did that back in the day … when he dropped the easy one and laid there for a while, so I was thinking about him when I missed that one," Smith quipped.
How far back in the day? It was Oct. 3, 2016, in Minnesota's 24-10 win over the New York Giants. Smith filed that memory away for more than eight years.
Likewise, the robust SKOL Chant by Vikings fans that followed Smith's interception is going to stay with him — and others for years to come.
Count O'Connell among those filing memories from the day.
"I was just walking in the tunnel after the game, and I heard some chants going on and I was wondering, 'Maybe this is it for me, maybe I've finally arrived,' " O'Connell said during his media session. "And then I realized Harrison (Smith) was walking right next to me and they were saying 'Harry.'
"So, I started chanting too because I love him, such an impactful player for this organization," O'Connell added. "How many times has he made a play like that, in a moment like that, where his team needs him and he's there to make the play? One of my all-time favorites — it's not close. I absolutely love Harrison Smith."
First Dibs
"The Hitman" hasn't kept every football he's intercepted, but he does have the first one — thanks to the alertness and helping hands of Kevin Williams — and remembers the details.
It was Oct. 21, 2012, against the Cardinals — Smith's seventh NFL game.
On third-and-6 from the Arizona 24-yard line, John Skelton sort of scrambled and tried to deliver the ball to Early Doucet. Smith was right on time for the late throw over the middle and showed his skills as a former running back had not faded during a 31-yard return for a touchdown.
"I was kind of a free player on the play, so I was reading the quarterback and the routes, and the play kind of broke down, so I went to where he was looking and made a pretty decent catch and cut it back across the field, which normally they tell you not to do, but that's what was open at the time," Smith explained. "I got some good blocks. Jared Allen got a good block to kind of spring me free."
Teammates came over to the corner of the Metrodome to mob the rookie. Jamarca Sanford jumped on Smith's back, and the ball trickled away before it was scooped and delivered back to Smith by Williams.
"That's something I definitely remember, Kevin coming up with the ball," Smith said. "I didn't even realize you could keep the ball, so ever since then, I've tried to keep every ball, and if I'm playing with a guy who gets a pick six or something and loses the ball, I try to pick it up. It's something in the moment you don't think about, but it's always good to have the ball for keepsakes."
His second interception occurred five games later when he high-pointed a deep pass from Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings at Lambeau Field on Dec. 2, 2012. Smith emerged from the convergence of players and kind of flipped the ball in the middle of the field. It's whereabouts are unknown — same for No. 6, the one he returned 81 yards for a touchdown in St. Louis but handed to a woman in the front row.
It took 10 years, but Smith did keep the ball the next time he picked off Rodgers on a deep pass late in the second quarter of Minnesota's 2022 opening win. And even though he wanted to get in on the action earlier this year against the Jets, he was happy that teammates Andrew Van Ginkel, Camryn Bynum and Stephon Gilmore had their hands in Rodgers' sixth career game with three interceptions.
"I think when I was early in my career, I didn't really understand how few picks he throws," Smith said. "I was just excited to be playing and on the field, saw the ball go up and just thought it was mine.
"I didn't keep that ball. I just kind of threw it," Smith said. "I didn't think about it, but as the years went by, I was like, 'Man, I probably should have kept that ball.' He doesn't throw many, so he gave me one more chance. It would have been nice to get him this year, but Gink' got one, and 'Beezy' and 'Gilly,' so it was enough."
Smith also had a 10-year gap between interceptions against the Cardinals. On Oct. 30, 2022, he stepped in front of an underthrown football from Kyler Murray to Robbie Anderson. There was no pick six this time. Instead, a 15-yard return and a laugh when reviewing the play on film.
As Smith secured the catch and began returning it, Vikings (and former Cardinals) cornerback Patrick Peterson began dancing in the middle of the field. The lower-body moves were akin to the Funky Chicken made famous by Billie "White Shoes" Johnson.
"We had a good laugh about that one, and that was his former team, so he was just having a good time," Smith said. "It's always fun to go back and watch the tape and see what everybody is doing, who is getting a block, who is already celebrating. It kind of turns to chaos sometimes. That's the stuff from the wide lens that most fans don't get to see."
Behind the scenes to celebrations
Smith used the seventh ball he intercepted (Sept. 28, 2014) against the Falcons to reward someone who does behind-the-scenes work, Vikings Assistant Equipment Manager Adam Groene.
"I'm pretty sure it was Cover 2, and I was playing a 7 route. Got a good jump on it. It was a decent catch. That's about it," Smith said of the play.
"Adam always helps me catch balls off the Jugs machine, so we spent a lot of time working on my hands and catching the flash of the ball," Smith added about the effort. "There was a lot of extra time he put in to help me out and my career and the team and all that. I just wanted to show my appreciation."
Groene has been with the Vikings since 2005. The game ball from Smith in 2014 was a career first from a player.
"It meant a lot for him being such a young player in the league and to gain that respect of him in that manner," Groene said. "He knew he had a lot of help that way, but he's very talented. He worked hard at his craft, and he appreciated the time we put in together, so it was nice for that acknowledgement.
"He's a great player but an even better human," Groene added. "To see what he has achieved, it's a great blessing."
Smith went 2-for-2 with an interception in each game he's played at Miami. The first occurred on a Van Ginkel-esque blitz of Ryan Tannehill, but the athletic Dolphins quarterback tripped Smith before he could make a house call.
"It was kind of a reaction play, being an athlete, being a football player. He got me down, though," Smith said. "I thought I was going to get away from him and score, so that was the one negative to that one, but yeah, that ball I kept. I gave that one to one of my family members at that game."
In 2022, Dolphins (and former Vikings) QB Teddy Bridgewater's pass bounced off Jaylen Waddle, causing Smith and Kendricks to dive for the ball. It bounced off both Vikings before coming to rest in Smith's hands for No. 31.
"That one was pretty wonky," Smith said. "I would say that one was probably the weirdest of all."
Another former Vikings teammate — Taylor Heinicke — threw No. 33 (a week after Smith picked off Murray), a deep shot over the middle that Smith returned 35 yards.
Teammates capitalized on a softening of rules over time to allow players to come from the bench to join in a celebration. They stood as 14 pins for Smith to bowl over, and Jordan Hicks humorously added a wobble before going to the turf.
"We were just trying to think of something in the locker room. We kind of rehearsed it, and I was the guy bowling the ball," Smith said. "It just so happened I was the guy that got the interception, so it kind of worked out perfect for us. We had, probably too many pins, but it was perfect. J-Hicks doing the wobble was the best part."
Back-to-back Mannings
Back in 2015, Smith's interception sequence was back-to-back Mannings. He nabbed a pass by Peyton intended for Demaryius Thomas for No. 11 (Oct. 4) and returned No. 12 off Eli 35 yards for his franchise-record fourth career pick six (Dec. 27).
"That was pretty cool, both being the players they are. I grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Peyton is obviously a big deal there," Smith said. "That one I gave to my grandmother because she's such a big Peyton fan, so that one was cool."
Smith didn't know at the time, but his father took the Peyton ball to a dinner in Knoxville and asked Peyton to sign it.
"It's cool to have that one," Smith said in the humblest of lowkey vibes.
He chucked the Eli interception into the stands at the University of Minnesota but later got the ball back in the family.
His brother-in-law happens to be a fan of the Giants, who also served up No. 35 in the 2024 season opener on a pass from Daniel Jones to Darius Slayton in the end zone, helping preserve Minnesota's 28-6 margin.
Smith kept that football, and four weeks later became the sixth player in NFL history to join the 35-20 club (interceptions and sacks) with a takedown of Rodgers. Sacks don't come with footballs, but enough of them position a player in elite company. The other five players — Charles Woodson, Ronde Barber, Brian Dawkins, LeRoy Butler and Larry Wilson — are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Although Smith might have more than the 36 interceptions had he not played so much of his career at the line of scrimmage, he said there's a certain pride in being a "multiple type of safety who can affect the game in every aspect."
"I don't remember if it was my rookie year or going into my third year because I knew I was going to blitz more [when I learned about the 20-20 club]," Smith said. "It was a goal of mine to be in the 20-20 club, and it normally takes DBs longer to get the sacks, so I knew I was on a good pace for the picks, but I had to take advantage of my blitzing opportunities, so that was something that I finally got this year against the Jets, and it was something I had been after for a long time, so I was pretty happy about it."
