When former Kansas University linebacker Ben Heeney played his final game as a Jayhawk, it left a huge void in the Kansas defense.

Heeney, a fifth-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in last spring’s NFL Draft, led the Jayhawks in tackles for three consecutive seasons, from 2012-14, averaging 109 stops per season. With nearly all of KU’s veteran defense heading out the door with him, filling that role as KU’s tackle master became one of the biggest questions surrounding the program during the offseason.

Thanks to junior safety Fish Smithson, it has been answered with an exclamation point.

Through 10 games, Smithson leads the FBS in both solo tackles (78) and solo tackles per game (7.8). His 100 total stops rank second in the Big 12 to Texas Tech linebacker Micah Awe’s 102, but Awe has recorded his total in one more game.

Given the fact that Smithson has tallied double-digit tackle numbers in seven games this season, including a career-high 13 stops against both Iowa State and Texas, it seems safe to say that Awe’s hold on the Big 12 lead is in jeopardy.

KU junior Fish Smithson (9) wraps up TCU's Aaron Green (22) for a loss in the Jayhawks' 23-17 loss to TCU on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Not that Smithson cares a lick about any of that. Asked this week about his monster season, the 5-foot-11, 193-pound Baltimore native most often answered by using the word “we” instead of saying “I.”

“He has, what, 100 (tackles) with two games left,” asked senior defensive end Ben Goodman. “I don’t even think Heeney had that. Fish is out there doing a tremendous job, and he’s been huge for us.”

So what changed for the former Navy signee who ran the triple option as a quarterback in high school and at Navy Prep? How did he transform last year’s modest numbers — 49 tackles in 12 games in 2014 — into eye-popping statistics during his first season as a KU captain?

“It’s just being out there,” he said. “Instincts and repetition. Triple digits? I never had that in mind. But that just comes with the game plan, the scheme and being in position to make the plays.”

A rotation guy behind Cassius Sendish and Isaiah Johnson a season ago, Smithson picked up valuable reps in a supporting role on the 2014 team. He learned how to adjust to the speed of Big 12 football, saw what guys like Sendish and Heeney did to position themselves to get a shot at the NFL and focused on football the way Einstein studied physics, all with the idea of playing a bigger role in 2015.

Voted a captain by his peers prior to the start of the season, Smithson has delivered both as a stat rat and a leader.

“I think the biggest thing that helps him is he’s a very smart football player,” KU coach David Beaty said. “You’ll be surprised how much football intelligence will make up for a lot of things. I think that really slows the game down for him, and what that does is it allows (him) to do things that maybe even a guy that possesses a faster skill set, (or changes) direction faster (can’t do).”

Beaty admitted that he did not know when he arrived how much of an impact Smithson could have on the team. Conversations with defensive coordinator Clint Bowen led Beaty to believe Smithson could be a solid contributor. But, this? Leading the nation in solo tackles? Leading the team in tackles by a whopping 39 stops over second place?

“He doesn’t let himself get in the positions that can get him hurt very often,” Beaty said. “He knows what everybody’s doing up front, which is a huge advantage because now you know how the pieces are supposed to move around. You know what the picture is supposed to look like as it unfolds. You know where you’re supposed to fit. I think that’s really the big thing for him.”

Perhaps the best part about Smithson’s monster year is that both he and Bowen believe he’s just starting to scratch the surface on how good he can be.

As the season has gone on, Smithson has shown more consistency from week to week, game to game and quarter to quarter. As he has spent more time working with strength coach Je’Ney Jackson, he has learned how to build his body into a durable and sure-fire tackling machine. And as the results have started to jump off the stat sheet on Saturdays, that has merely made Smithson want to work harder.

Smithson’s 12 tackles last week against TCU gave him five straight games with 10 or more tackles, a feat that had not been accomplished by a KU player since Carl Nesmith did it in 2000.

With two games to play, he sits 27 stops shy of KU’s all-time record for most tackles in a season by a KU defensive back. Perhaps more poetically, he needs just 15 stops in the final two games to pass Bowen, who recorded 114 stops as a KU safety in 1993.

“There’s even more in him,” Bowen said. “He can still get a lot better.”

Added Smithson: “I come in and watch tape and there’s still mistakes that I make. I miss some tackles. I can work on my coverage. I can always work on my leadership. I don’t really think I’m a complete player right now. I still feel like I have a lot to work on and to show in my game.”