Steve Atwater Stephen Dennis " Smiling Assassin " Atwater ( born October 28 , 1966 in Chicago , Illinois ) is a former American football player who spent most of his career playing free safety for the Denver Broncos . Atwater and Dennis Smith made up a Broncos secondary that was known for their ferocious hits on opposing players . He was an eight - time Pro Bowl selection and two - time Super Bowl Champion . Early life . He attended Lutheran High School North in St . Louis , Missouri and was the school ' s top athlete . He was also the only player to ever win a Super Bowl out of that school . Atwater was selected all - conference and league Most Valuable Player as an option style quarterback . He credits his coach there , Mike Russell , as serving as a mentor for him both as a football player and becoming an exemplary citizen . Atwater also is sixth on Lutheran North ' s all - time passing yards in a season with 1 , 097 yards in his junior year . College . Atwater signed with the University of Arkansas , where he was moved from quarterback to safety . He was named to the All - Southwest Conference team three times and named as an All - American twice . Atwater finished as the Razorbacks ' all - time leader in interceptions with 14 . Helping Atwater ' s stock as a pro prospect was his appearance in the East - West Shrine Game , where he logged two interceptions . He was also named defensive most valuable player in the 1989 East - West Shrine Game . He still holds the school record with 14 INT in his career . In 1994 , Atwater was named to the Razorback All - Century Team and the All - Decade Team for the 1980s . He was inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 1998 . Professional career . Denver Broncos . Atwater was drafted out of the University of Arkansas by the Broncos with the 20th pick in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft . The Broncos began the draft with the 13th overall pick and were hoping to upgrade their defense which had ranked 27th ( out of a possible 28 ) against the run the previous year . Knowing that Atwater would be available in the later parts of the first round , the Broncos traded down to the 20th overall pick owned by the Cleveland Browns who selected Eric Metcalf with Denver ' s 13th overall pick . Atwater was projected by most as the second - best safety in the draft behind Louis Oliver who was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 25th overall pick . However , then - head coach Dan Reeves selected Atwater over Oliver because of his leadership skills , which Reeves felt were badly needed following the defense ' s let downs during the 1988 season . New defensive coordinator Wade Phillips employed Atwater close to the line of scrimmage in order to fortify Denver ' s run defense and he led the team in tackles , finishing with 129 tackles his rookie season . Denver ' s defense jumped 20 spots to finish 7th against the run and tied for 3rd best in yards per carry with a 3 . 7 yard average . That same year , Atwater finished 2nd to the Kansas City Chiefs ' Derrick Thomas in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting . The additions of rookies Atwater and Bobby Humphrey , along with key free agent signings , helped Denver rebound from 8 - 8 in 1988 to AFC Super Bowl representative in 1989 . Atwater ' s second season marked the first of seven consecutive Pro Bowl selections ( 1990 – 96 ) , tied for most in franchise history . Over his career , he was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times , second most in franchise history . Early in his career , Atwater teamed with fellow Broncos safety Dennis Smith to form one of the best safety tandems of their generation . Both would later be inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame . During his 10 - year career in Denver , Atwater started in 155 games , tying him for seventh in franchise history for games started . He also started in 14 post - season games . One of Atwater ' s career highlights happened on September 17 , 1990 , during a Monday Night Football telecast from Mile High Stadium in Denver , Colorado . As Kansas City Chiefs massive 260 lbs . running back Christian Okoye , came through a hole in the line of scrimmage , he was met by Atwater . The resulting collision stopped Okoye in his tracks , with Atwater standing over him , taunting the proclaimed " Nigerian Nightmare " , while he lay on the ground stunned . The devastating tackle became known as the " Hit Heard Around the World " , since home viewers could audibly hear the popping of the pads when Atwater slammed into Okoye . It is still considered one of the best tackles ever in the NFL , and a testament to Atwater being named to the Top 10 Most Fear Tacklers in NFL History list . In Super Bowl XXXII , he posted one of the better performances by a safety in a Super Bowl and one of the greatest games of his career . In that game , he is credited with six solo tackles , one sack , two passes defensed and a forced fumble . His presence near the line of scrimmage kept the Green Bay Packers ' running game in check . His sack and forced fumble resulted in three critical points in the second quarter when the Broncos offense had stalled without star running back Terrell Davis . Near the end of the fourth quarter , the game was tied at 24 and Green Bay had the ball on 3rd down & 8 . Atwater knocked down a critical pass on a blitz where the receiver was left wide open , forcing the Packers to punt . Then on Green Bay ' s final drive , Atwater ' s vicious hit ( which nearly knocked out two players , a Packers player and a Broncos player ) with less than a minute remaining left the Packers in 4th and 6 situation without any remaining timeouts , due to NFL rules regarding injuries to players in the final two minutes of a game . Many argued that Atwater should have been the MVP of the game and the ensuing article in " The Sporting News " pictured Atwater and noted the impact of his hits on the game . Super Bowl XXXII was Atwater ' s last great game , and 1997 his last great season . In 1998 , he was relegated to only playing on 1st and 2nd downs and replaced on 3rd downs . Nevertheless , because of the viewership of the Super Bowl from the previous year , he was voted as an AFC Pro Bowl starter for an eighth and final time . Following the Pro Bowl voting , the " Denver Post " noted that Atwater ' s selection to the Pro Bowl was due to his play in the previous year ' s Super Bowl . Denver went on to win the Super Bowl for a second straight year , marking Super Bowl XXXIII as Atwater ' s final game with the Broncos . New York Jets . Atwater left the Broncos following the 1998 season , signing with the New York Jets as a free agent for his final season in 1999 . Atwater played for the New York Jets for one season , then retired . He signed a one - day ceremonial contract with the Broncos before announcing his retirement from football . Legacy . Atwater was inducted to the Broncos ' Ring of Fame in 2005 . Atwater was among 27 modern - era semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2012 . He was one of four previously eligible candidates that made it to the semifinals for the first time .