Notre Dame lineman Chris Smith embracing his expanding role

When backup Irish junior lineman Aidan Keanaaina tore an ACL in the first practice of fall camp, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman knew he had both a numbers and a depth problem on his defensive interior. 

What Freeman and Co. didn’t realize was just how bad the numbers crunch would become, and what a brilliant move luring Harvard graduate transfer Chris Smith to campus would turn out to be. 

Smith was considered more of an insurance policy than a production provider when the Detroit native arrived on campus in the summer.

That’s before Smith’s snaps and value grew seemingly overnight when a high ankle sprain sidelined senior starting tackle Howard Cross III for the BYU game Oct. 8, and valuable reserve Jacob Lacey unexpectedly entered the transfer portal shortly thereafter. 

The depth dilemma caused Smith to play a season-high 28 snaps against BYU, and he made 2 tackles in Notre Dame’s 28-20 victory over the Cougars.

Smith’s snap number swelled to 63 against Stanford, which easily led all Irish defensive linemen, and was fourth most on the entire Irish defense. 

Smith made good with his increased workload, recording a season-high 4 tackles, including 0.5 for loss with a forced fumble.

Smith enters the UNLV game with 11 total tackles this season, 6 in the last two games. 

And with injuries mounting around him, expect Smith’s role and production to keep increasing. 

“What I’ve seen from him is just what we hoped: consistent, dependable, a good run stopper and a power rusher,” Irish defensive line coach Al Washington said. 

New surroundings

“Smooth transition” became the operative phrase once Smith, a 2021 first-team All-Ivy League honoree, arrived on campus in June for summer school.

In three seasons at Harvard, which plays a 10-game schedule, Smith recorded 72 tackles and 5.5 sacks — not necessarily eye-popping numbers — but good enough to draw plenty of portal attention. Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Minnesota were among a handful of Power Five schools interested in the big and strong middleman’s services. 

Smith wasted no time and committed to Minnesota last January. 

Seemingly content and ready for a Minneapolis relocation, Smith heard from Notre Dame early this spring, made a campus visit and flipped his commitment in April. 

Smith shared how he was on a spring break trip in South Carolina with seven Harvard classmates when Notre Dame reached out and extended an offer. 

“I was definitely shocked. It was a good feeling,” Smith said. “They had an opportunity and a need at defensive tackle.” 

A respectful, talented and committed student-athlete — Smith graduated from Harvard with an undergraduate degree in human evolutionary biology — the decommitment phone call back to Minnesota wasn’t an easy one. 

“Obviously, they weren’t too pleased,” Smith said. “But you have to do what’s best for you and what you see fit.” 

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 310 pounds, Smith is the biggest player on the Irish defense and benches 35 reps at 225 pounds. Smith’s teammates affectionately call him “35” instead of “65” — his jersey number. 

“Chris Smith is a beast,” declared fellow graduate student lineman Jayson Ademilola, the latest Irish defensive player to join the on-the-mend list. “Great punch inside, ready to work. He’s the same dude every day.” 

Expect the catalog of nicknames to grow for Smith. In an earlier interview, Washington called his graduate student a “fire hydrant,” a “rhino” and a “block of granite.” 

Smith has also caught the attention of Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. 

“Chris [Smith] will do exactly what we ask him to do, it’s an unbelievable quality,” Golden said. 

Beyond football

Smith is part of an odd couple of 2022 Harvard-to-Notre Dame transfers who are already making quick contributions in new surroundings. Like Smith, Irish starting punter Jon Sot relocated and excelled here after a successful career with the Crimson. 

Sot ranks 11th nationally this week with a 45.4-yard punting average.

Smith shared stories of how immediately after Sot decided in January to transfer to Notre Dame, his former Harvard teammate became a driving influence to flipping him from Minnesota to Notre Dame. 

“He definitely hit my phone up a lot,” Smith said with a laugh. “It’s definitely cool having someone I went to school with, who knows the grind at Harvard and was someone familiar going to a new place. That was definitely a factor in the [transfer] decision.” 

Smith holds a great affinity for his time at Harvard, along with the experiences he gained and the people he met there. In fact, during Notre Dame’s bye Saturday on Oct. 1, Smith returned to Cambridge, Mass., to watch a Crimson game and catch up with friends, coaches and former teammates. 

“They’re proud of everyone. They’re not surprised,” Smith shared of the reunion, and his former coaches’ reaction to his graduate transfer. “They’ve seen other guys have success at other programs that played at Harvard for four years. They were really encouraging. It was good.” 

Sot concurs. 

“[Smith] is the guy that whatever the coaches ask him to do, he will do it,” he said. “He will fill in different roles if they need him too. He’s going to make plays for this defense.” 

Sot wasn’t the only influencer who helped bring Smith to Notre Dame.

Raised as an only child by his single mother, Sebrina Hicks, Smith was an unrated and lightly recruited player out of academically driven Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Off the recruiting radar, Smith’s scholarship offers came almost exclusively from Ivy and Patriot League schools. 

“I knew right away that was the direction I was going to take,” Smith said. 

Smith calls his mother a guiding light, and an influential force to helping him settle on Harvard back then, Notre Dame now and everything in between. 

“Once my mom and I visited Notre Dame, and got to meet some of the coaches, and realized they were genuine,” Smith recalled, “we felt this was a good spot for me.” 

And the feeling between the program and the player is mutual.