Vikings safety Harrison Smith earns unique midseason honor from SI
By Adam Carlson
The excellent play of Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith has during the 2016 season has not gone unrecognized by Sports Illustrated in All-Pro voting.
It’s approximately the halfway point for the Minnesota Vikings and the rest of the NFL when it comes to the 2016 regular season. With that in mind, several media outlets are taking to naming their best players to this point and giving out midseason honors.
Sports Illustrated is one of the most notable sports authorities to do this. Recently, they released their midseason All-Pro Team, which included only one member of the Minnesota Vikings…and that player was the only representative from the entire NFC North.
The individual making the team from Minnesota is safety Harrison Smith. Smith is a major reason the Vikings defense is one of the best in the league, and his ability to do many things very well is what makes him very valuable and unique in the secondary.
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In fact, Smith’s talents are so unique that he earned one very specific honor from Sports Illustrated: He was the only defensive player to be a unanimous selection to the midseason All-Pro team, receiving nods from all 10 voters.
Here is what Sports Illustrated said about their choice:
"“The only unanimous selection on defense, Smith has been a beast at the heart of the Vikings’ top-ranked unit.”"
There is no denying Smith’s impact on the Vikings. The team rewarded him handsomely with a 5 year, $51.25 million contract for his great play, ensuring that he will be a part of the team for a long time.
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Congratulations to Harrison Smith on the unique honor from Sports Illustrated. Smith can be seen on Sunday, November 6, 2016 when the Minnesota Vikings take on the Detroit Lions in their week 9 matchup.