To the Vikings, he is "Hit Man'' or "Dirty Harry." A dozen years ago in Tennessee, Harrison Smith was known by another nickname.
When Smith was in the eighth grade in Knoxville, his youth coach was Tim Irwin, a former Minnesota tackle who is a juvenile court judge in the city. Back then, Smith was starting to carve out his reputation for belting out hard hits.
"They called him 'Bonecrusher,''' Irwin said. "He was like a heat-seeking missile. He was such a strong, fast kid, and he was just way above everybody else in hitting ability.