Add more preseason recognition for UConn rising junior linebacker Yawin Smallwood who was named to the watch list for a national award for the fifth time in the last 12 days.

This one is the most impressive of the bunch as he was one of 11 defensive players named to the Walter Camp Player of the Year watch list.

Smallwood has been on the watch list for the Butkus, Bednarik and Nagurski Awards which are all presented exclusively to defensive players and to the Lombardi Award which considers offensive and defensive linemen in addition to linebackers.

Smallwood led UConn with 120 tackles as a sophomore including 15 tackles for losses and four sacks. Smallwood had six games with at least 10 tackles during the 2012 season including back to back 14-tackle efforts against North Carolina State and Maryland. He had nine tackles for loss and four sacks in the first three games of his sophomore season.

The other defensive players named to the Walter Camp Awards, which is presented annually to the national player of the year, are UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, Rice defensive back Phillip Gaines, Texas defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley, Notre Dame defensive end Louis Nix III, Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton, Notre Dame defensive Stephon Tuitt and BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy.

Ten semifinalists for the Walter Camp Award will be named in mid-November with the winner being announced on Dec. 12.