Yawin Smallwood Will Contribute Nicely For Connecticut Huskies in 2013

There is not many positives to take out of the Connecticut Huskies 2-5 record in the Big East and 5-7 overall season in 2012. However, a lone bright spot was Yawin Smallwood who has shown CFB just how dominant he can be with his selection to the First All-Big East Team this winter.

Moving on, Smallwood provided the Huskies a spark on defense as they finished the season with a defense ranked 19th in all of NCAAF by yielding just 19.8 points per game in 2012. The line-backing core was exceptionally tough behind Smallwood who racked up 120 tackles for an underachieving Huskies team.

The only way that the Big East record will improve in 2013 is if Smallwood can make those around him better for instance, the team had only a few players that could make plays especially on the defensive end. Smallwood did his part being named Big East Player of the Week three different times this past season and he will get an added boost with top recruit Jalen Stevens verbally committing to play OLB for the program in 2013.

I have no doubt that Smallwood will jump at the opportunity to leave for the NFL after this season as he is the perfect hybrid type to excel at the next level.

Smallwood is a bigger ILB standing at 6-foot-3 and weighting in at 235 pounds and that will pay dividends come draft day as the ability to play on the line and drop back in coverage is one of the first things that NFL squads look at when scouting for defensive talent.