Smallwood Named to Bednarik Award Watch List
University of Connecticut junior linebacker Yawin Smallwood (Worcester, Mass.) has been named to the Watch List for the 2013 Bednarik Award given by the Maxwell Football Club.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of ’69 and the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of ’67.
Smallwood was a first team All-BIG EAST selection in 2012 and led the Huskies in tackles with 120 and was second in tackles for a loss with 15. He had four sacks and two forced fumbles. Smallwood was tied for 20th in the country in tackles per game (10.0) and was third in the BIG EAST. He was a three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week.
He was named the Chuck Bednarik Defensive Player of the Week from the Maxwell Football Club after having 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks in a win over Maryland.
Smallwood has played in all 24 UConn games over the past two seasons and has 214 career tackles with 5.5 sacks and 17.5 TFLs.
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced October 29, while the three finalists will be unveiled Nov. 18. The winner of the 2013 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 5. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala on March 7, 2014.
The watch list candidates have been chosen by the Maxwell Football Club’s selection committee, which analyzes both past performance and future potential. The Club reserves the right to make additions and deletions to these lists as the 2013 season unfolds. All members of the Maxwell Football Club, NCAA sports information directors, FBS head coaches and selected national media are eligible to vote for the awards.
The Chuck Bednarik Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football.
Reprinted with permission from UConnHuskies.com
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