25 former college football players destined to be future head coaches

16. Harrison Smith, former Notre Dame safety

Most times, players that are elite athletes do not always make the best athletes because they can do things on the field that many other players cannot. Harrison Smith was recruited by Notre Dame as an athlete. Smith was the  2006 Tennessee high school player of the year. Scouts believed Smith could play either offense or defense.

At Notre Dame, Smith began his career playing linebacker. Smith would alternate between safety and linebacker during the early part of his career at Notre Dame pioneering the ROVER position the Irish now use. After a stand-out career for the Fighting Irish, Smith was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

Smith has elite tools as a defender including natural instincts to find the football. The Knoxville native has not rested on his laurels, however. Harris has been lauded for being a hard worker and film junkie since high school. The Vikings All-Pro is proof that greatness is not achieved by talent alone.

That combination of pure talent and hard work would make Smith a great motivator as a coach. Players that might think they’ve hit their ceiling would excel under someone who was both a great athlete and took a cerebral approach to the game.