I think he was the poster child for the defense of the Weis years.
I don't mean the worst player. You don't get the stats he got in '08 as a bad player. Rather he was forced to play out of position like Ethan Johnson, Brian Smith, and others under defensive coaches that couldn't get their message through. A player occasionally out of position is usually player error, a bad read or a mental lapse. Players (plural) frequently out of position is bad coaching.
Despite all the talk about the DL, I see Harrison Smith as a key to the success of this defense.