EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Harrison Smith has continually made his case as the top safety in the NFL over the last few seasons. His versatility makes him arguably the biggest asset for the Minnesota Vikings on defense by the way he plays the run and his pass coverage.

That's football. When it comes to dodgeball, Smith's game could use some work.

"I was terrible today," Smith joked. "It was kind of my sport growing up, but I'm awful. I'm out of practice."

Smith dusted off his dodgeball skills (though he was admittedly a little too reliant on the "jail break" rule to get back in the game) on Tuesday when he hosted 20 members from Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities and their mentors for an evening of games, a tour of the Vikings practice facility and a Q&A session with himself and fellow defensive backs Andrew Sendejo and Terence Newman.

His passion for providing youth with strong mentors has been the driving force behind his association with Big Brothers Big Sisters since the two parties linked up four years ago for Smith's inaugural kickball game.

This season, the Pro Bowl safety took his involvement with the organization a step further. For every tackle Smith makes (he has 57 combined tackles through 11 games), the safety has vowed to pledge money towards his Big Tackles campaign and has encouraged fans to join him in giving what they can. With five weeks left in the regular season, Smith is roughly $5,000 away from reaching his goal of $40,000.

"I think it's fun for fans because when I get a tackle, they know something good is going to happen off the field as well," he said.

Harrison Smith (22) was joined by teammates Andrew Sendejo and Terence Newman for a Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities event on Tuesday. Courtney Cronin/ESPN

Smith points to the success he's attained by having different mentors at various stages of his life. He was fortunate enough to have an older brother who cared and looked out for him early on. When he reached high school, Knoxville Catholic (Tenn.) dean of students Stanley Branson played a major role in molding Smith's character.

"He looked out for everybody as far as if we're taking care of ourselves, taking care of business in the classroom, how are we treating the teachers, how are we treating the kids we go to school with," he said. "It kept us on the straight and narrow. That's kind of a time in your life when you can get in trouble and you're all over the place. He was someone who had the best in mind for all of us."

The invaluable life lessons he has been afforded throughout his life is something the safety wants to pass on to other kids in hopes that they might benefit the same way he did from having a positive role model.

As the evening wrapped up, Smith and his teammates answered a bevy of questions from the wide-eyed youths in attendance.

How did you get to play for the Vikings?

Do you like lifting weights?

Do you guys get to choose your positions?

What's it like play in front of so many fans?

Who are your mentors?

Even at this point in their careers, Smith and Sendejo still benefit from the guidance they've received from Newman, the 39-year-old cornerback looked to as a veteran leader in the locker room.

"He shows us things every week," Smith relayed to the kids.

Sendejo, who played with Newman in Dallas during the latter portion of the 2010 season, learned valuable lessons from a young age, relaying a story of how Newman taught him to bench press properly as a young rookie after he dropped the bar on his face and gave himself a black eye, a story that made the small audience laugh in unison.

Before the session was over, the players talked about various challenges they've faced throughout their lives. Sendejo discussed how the injury he dealt with his senior year at Rice may have altered his path to the league. Smith took it one step further to relay how his strong safety counterpart overcame multiple hurdles to become an NFL talent.

"He has the best story of being here right now," Smith said. "You've probably never heard of the UFL."

"What???" the kids echoed back.

Smith proudly told the story of Sendejo's journey from an undrafted free agent that signed with the Sacramento Mountain Lions for his rookie season before getting a shot with the Cowboys.

Several heads nodded in agreement realizing that they, too, could one day be in a spot where the players they look up to are now.

It's interactions like these that remind Smith why he got involved with mentoring in the first place.

"I wanted to give back in a way that I know the resources get to those who need it," he said. "Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organization that makes sure that happens. It was an easy choice."