One of the first major reclamation projects for Brian Kelly at Notre Dame was Harrison Smith. Under Charlie Weis, Smith played out of position and moved around a lot never finding consistent success. Kelly moved Smith to safety and watched him turn into a 1st round pick of the Minnesota Vikings two years later. Today, Smith signed a massive contract extension with those same Vikings making him the 2nd highest-paid safety in the NFL.
Former Notre Dame offensive line Mike Golic Jr broke the news of Smith’s 4-year, $64 million extension for ESPN earlier today. Jamal Adams of the Seattle Seahawks is the only higher-paid safety currently in the NFL.