Former UConn linebacker Yawin Smallwood was one of eight players that the Tennessee Titans signed to futures contracts today.

Smallwood was originally drafted by Atlanta in the seventh round of this year's draft. Smallwood was cut by the Falcons on Aug. 29 and signed to the practice squad by the Titans last month.

Smallwood and the other seven signed players ended the season on the Tennessee practice squad.

A day after making former UConn receiver Nick Williams one of the final roster cut the Washington Redskins announced he was one of  eight players named to the team's practice squad.

Williams was originally signed by Washington as an undrafted rookie free agent last April. He spent some time on the practice squad during the 2013 season before being promoted to the active roster on Nov. 8. He made his debut nine days later and had a five-yard reception in a loss to Philadelphia. He finished with three catches for 15 yards in five games. He also averaged 20.9 yards on nine kickoff returns and returned one punt for no yards.

During the preseason Williams finished tied for third on the team with six catches and he had touchdown receptions in back to back games.

The Atlanta Falcons named the first eight players signed to the practice squad but former UConn linebacker Yawin Smallwood, taken by the Falcons in the seventh round of this year's draft before being cut. wasn't among then. The team is supposed to announce the names of the final two practice-squad players tomorrow.

The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport is reporting that the Atlanta Falcons will cut former UConn linebacket Yawin Smallwood.

Ian Rapoport @RapSheet

#Falcons are releasing LB Pat Angerer, I’m told. Also cut LB Yawin Smallwood, their 7th rounder. A bit surprising on Angerer, who is healthy

Smallwood was UConn's leading tackler during the 2012 and 2013 seasons and after the 2013 regular-season finale against Memphis he announced that he was turning pro. Once thought to be a mid-round draft pick, Smallwood's stock dropped especially he eased up due to a tender hamstring en route to running a 5.0 time in the 40-yard dash. He fell to the seventh round and was taken by the Falcons with the 253rd overall pick. Smallwood had 118 tackles, four sacks and broke up 10 passes during the 2013 season. He finished with 332 career tackles in three seasons with the Huskies.

He had three tackles in the first preseason game but managed just one in the final three games. He is eligible to be brought back by the Falcons and added to the team's practice squad.

The NFL is holding a rookie symposium to try to help the next wave of promising prospects make the often difficult transition from college life.

Something tells me the first-year players with the San Diego Chargers don't need to head at a week-long group of seminars but merely spend some time with third-year defensive end Kendall Reyes.

If ever there was a visual of a professional athlete who "gets it", the festivities on the playing fields outside the Boys and Girls Club of Nashua yesterday during the second annual R.E.Y.E.S (Re-engaging Youth through Exercise and Sport) Family Field Day would certainly do the trick. Reyes was not merely the face of the event but he was at the forefront of every activity, engaging with the people who turned out, posing for photos and acting like anything but the resident NFL star. Of all the people who turned out for the event, it's highly unlikely any of them enjoyed themselves more than Reyes himself.

Reyes joins Donald Brown (now his teammate in San Diego) and Darius Butler as the only UConn products to be taken in the top 50 picks in the NFL Draft. He is the first kid from Nashua, N.H. to play in the NFL since linebacker Kole Ayi played a total of 12 games with St. Louis and New England during the 2001 and 2002 seasons and the first one to be drafted since tackle Herb Wester went in the fifth round of the 1988 draft. But there is so much more to Reyes than being the Big Man on Campus.

Even though he has started 20 regular-season games during his first two NFL seasons, including all 16 during the 2013 season, Reyes has not forgotten his roots.

Before he was attracting college recruiters to his games at Nashua North High School or playing a pivotal role in UConn playing in its first BCS bowl game, he was like one of the more than 200 kids who turned out on Saturday. The Nashua Boys and Girls Club was once his sanctuary, a place where he not only became a better athlete but a more well-rounded person as well.

"I spent a good amount of years mostly from fourth to sixth grade when my family needed me here," Reyes said. "The Boys and Girls Club, they had my back and our entire family's back. That is where I spent the bulk of my years here, they were very pivotal years growing up."

So when it came time for Reyes to organize an event in his hometown, it was only natural that the Boys and Girls Club and Nashua Police Athletic League would be at the forefront of the feel-good event. So shortly after the San Diego Chargers wrapped up mini-camp, Reyes was "on the first thing smoking out of San Diego, I hoped on the field flight I could and I came out.

"Giving back, that is just part of who I am. It is just the fact that I actually get to do it. I can get everybody together to do something for the community out in Nashua and basically all of Southern New Hampshire. Basically it is a blessing and I am so glad I get to do it, working with all of these people who are willing to give up some time and make sure these kids have a great time. That is what it is about at the end of the day, that this kids have a truly great experience that they can go and remember and help them in any facet of their lives."

When the inaugural event was held last year Stellos Stadium was the site but this year Reyes and the other event organizers decided to hold it at the Boys and Girls Club. So on the fields at Grand Avenue there was an obstacle course, dunking tank, 3 on 3 basketball games and a variety of other events set up.

"It's great," Reyes said. "I would say the first year was definitely the learning curve so you learn from that and I brought it back second year. I wanted it to do it here at the Boys and Girls Club of Nashua, it is a great location and it is easier for us to set everything up. The turnout is great, we have a bunch of food for everyone, the kids are having a blast and I am going out and playing games with them. I really couldn't ask for anything better."

This weekend was all about giving back and reconnecting with people who helped Reyes become the first player from Nashua to start an NFL game since Greg Landry in 1984. In about a month he will be back in San Diego looking to become a more consistently effective player in his third season with the Chargers.

"We put some good things together, we have some solid players and now we have to figure it out," said Reyes, who has 62 tackles and 10.5 sacks in his first two NFL seasons. "We have a solid team so it is just being consistent and things are looking good for us in 2014. You learn so much in this game, every year you learn more about the game, learn more about yourself. It is always adapting and molding to the game. Adaptability and ability to stay healthy, that is a huge part of it, taking care of your body and mentally staying with it is all a huge part of it."

He has a familiar face on board as the Chargers signed Brown, the only UConn player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, in the offseason. When Reyes was a freshman Brown enjoyed a record-setting season with the Huskies as he ran for 2,083 yards and 18 touchdowns. While he's not going to reach those numbers this season with the Chargers, it didn't take long for Brown and Reyes to take trips down memory lane.

"Don's out there, we have gone golfing a few times and he is a solid dude," Reyes said. "I always looked up to him and now that he is on our locker room I still look up to him, the type of leadership he has, he is an excellent teammate and he always puts his team first and I always admired him."

Reyes admits his delight at seeing the ever expanding number of his former UConn teammates making it into the NFL.

"We all still chat it up and get together whenever we play against each other, it is awesome," Reyes said. "There are so many of us that are in the league now. Back at UConn we would also talk about the league and now we are there so it is dreams coming true. So many guys that made it and so many guys that are about to come on up, we have done some good things and clearly there is talent in Connecticut."

The most recent additions are defensive tackle Shamar Stephen and linebacker Yawin Smallwood, taken in the seventh round of last month's draft by Minnesota and Atlanta respectively.

"I was excited to see them drafted. I hit them up to tell them I was proud of them and now it is starts," Reyes said.

Byron Jones, who will be a senior cornerback on the 2014 UConn squad, figures to be up next as he was rated as one of the top five senior prospects at his position by one NFL draft analyst.

"He was a freak athlete since the day he showed up," Reyes said. "He is doing his thing and as long as he continues to work hard and continue to get better he is going to be a solid player."

Reyes admits that when he comes back into New England, he tends to gravitate to Nashua rather than head back to UConn but he said he has been getting positive progress reports on how things are progressing up new head coach Bob Diaco.

"I am not going to lie it is pretty tough getting back there," Reyes said. "I live year round in San Diego, I have a huge commitment here in New Hampshire. I go back when I can but it is pretty tough going back. I have heard a lot of good things about the coaching staff, even some of the former players I am in contact with, they love the (staff) and the changes."

Finally, I would have been remiss had I not asked Reyes for his reaction to the death of San Diego sports icon Tony Gwynn, who lost his battle with cancer last week.

"It is not news you want to hear," Reyes said.  "I can definitely empathize with his son Tony Gwynn Jr. and his family (Reyes' father Gerard passed away in February at the age of 49). I was at an event with him but I never got too close. The whole Chargers' organization we went down to the stadium and visited his statue so the community loved him."

There was some horrible injury news coming out of the Atlanta Falcons' camp today as linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, expected to be one of the top playmakers on the Falcons' defense during the 2014, was lost for the season due to a ruptured Achilles' tendon.

Weatherspoon had 290 tackles, eight sacks and two interceptions over the last four seasons for the Falcons despite missing 17 games. Among the players who could potentially play bigger roles in Weatherspoon's absence could be former UConn linebacker Yawin Smallwood.

Smallwood was taken in the seventh round by Atlanta and has been touted as potentially being one of the steals in the draft. Time will tell how the Falcons readjust the linebacking corps without Weatherspoon but losing a player of Weatherspoon's caliber leaving a significant hole for the Falcons to fill and with four of the final five draft picks in last month's draft being linebackers, it bears watching if Smallwood or any of the other rookies put themselves in position for expanded roles as rookies.

Former UConn linebacker Yawin Smallwood agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons today.

Smallwood, a seventh-round pick by Atlanta, received a signing bonus of $45,896 and the base salaries in the four-year contract were $420,000, $510,000, $600,000 and $690,000 according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun and the National Football Post.

Former UConn offensive tackle Jimmy Bennett was feeling pretty good about things as he saw ex teammates Shamar Stephen and Yawin Smallwood taken in the seventh round in the NFL Draft. However, there was more good news coming his way before the draft came to an end.

Right before the name of the final player taken in the three-day draft Bennett received a call from the Cincinnati Bengals telling him that they were signing him as a free agent. UPDATE 5/12 at 6 p.m.: Bennett was not on the list of 10 players signed as undrafted rookie free agents. The Bengals would not confirm whether  Bennett came in and did not pass a physical saying that they signed the 10 college free agents who came in and passed physicals and that the team does not have any players in camp on solely a tryout basis.

"I never talked to them before the draft so it was really surprising but it was cool nonetheless, I am happy," said Bennett, who is flying out to Cincinnati this afternoon. "They called me right before Mr. Irrelevant was announced they called me to let me know.

"It was just the Bengals, they said ‘you are signed, you are good.’ I obviously haven’t played football in a while and it is exciting to get back into football. There are a lot of things that I don’t know what to expect, it is a lot of anticipation and what is going to happen."

Bennett had an injury-plagued career as he was one of the rare players to be granted a sixth season of eligibility. He started every game over the last two seasons at left tackle and also got some positive reviews for his performance in the Medal of Honor Bowl.

"For me it is exciting, it was one of those goals because everybody wants to play in the NFL," Bennett said. "I’ve taken a few hits and had some setbacks at times but you have to get that out of your mind, get to work and focus on staying there. There are a lot of different things running through my head. It is exciting but it is also kind of nerve wracking at the same time."

Yesterday Bennett was with former teammate Steve Greene, an offensive guard who started alongside Bennett for the last two years and Bennett said that Greene is receiving an tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Also, I have seen a report that DE Jesse Joseph will receive a tryout with the Chicago Bears. The Bears should have a pretty good idea what Joseph is capable of as former UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni is the team's defensive line coach.

Duane Forde @DuaneFordeTSN
DE Jesse Joseph, a 2013 Alouettes draft pick out of UConn has been invited to mini camp with the Bears, no contract.

 I haven't heard anything about the other UConn players getting free agent contracts or invitations to try out at rookie mini camp.

Bennett was thrilled to see Stephen get taken by Minnesota and Smallwood go to Atlanta,

"I was very nervous there for a while," Bennett said. "I didn’t think they were going to. It is nice to see their names come across the TV. It’s great seeing guys you went school with making it, especially Yawin because he came out early. He didn’t go as high as he thought but it happens."

Former UConn quarterback Mike Box, who transferred to Division II Indiana (Pa,) University, will be heading to the Washington Redskins rookie mini-camp

IUP Crimson Hawks @IUPCrimsonHawk
Former #IUPFB QB Mike Box (@AutoBox_5) has been invited by the Washington Redskins to their rookie mini camp beginning on May 16.

Former UConn DB Tevrin Brandon, who transferred to Monmouth, will be at the Kansas City Chiefs training camp

Chris Shanafelt @ChrisShanafelt
The Kansas City Chiefs will be signing former UConn/Monmouth CB, Tevrin Brandon.

Yawin Smallwood got comfortable in his home in Worcester to watch the NFL Draft beginning with Thursday's first round.

UConn's leading tackler in each of the last two seasons, Smallwood boldly declared that he considered himself to be the best linebacker in the draft. If one of the NFL teams agreed with him, perhaps he would join Donald Brown as the only UConn player to be taken in the first round. He watch the second and third rounds and nearly every pick on Saturday when the final four rounds took place.

Finally, his wait ended when Atlanta took Smallwood with the 253rd overall pick late in the seventh round.

"Once it got to the second round I was waiting for my name to be called. In the third round I was still waiting, fourth, fifth, sixth and I still didn’t see my name getting called," Smallwood said. "I kept seeing players I thought I was better than. I was (wondering) whether I was going to get drafted. I started getting calls from teams talking about free agency. I was a little disappointed and I got that call from Atlanta, they told me they loved the type of player I am and they were going to draft me. It felt great, it was a great moment."

Last year undrafted rookie free agent Paul Worrilow ended up being the leading tackler for the Atlanta Falcons. With the Falcons taking former UConn star Yawin Smallwood late in the seventh round, could history be repeated?

"I am going to do what I have always done, work hard and make plays," Smallwood said. "At UConn I produced and every single year I got better."

Smallwood led UConn with 118 tackles and four sacks during the 2013 season. He finished with 332 tackles in his three years with the Huskies with 27 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and five forced fumbles

Former UConn stars Yawin Smallwood and Shamar Stephen expected
to be taken on either Firday or Saturday in NFL draft.

These next few days are going to be anxious ones for the former UConn players who have put themselves in position to get their names called in the NFL Draft.

Last year five UConn players were drafted and a total of eight made it into NFL camps. That number is expected to be significantly smaller this time around but linebacker Yawin Smallwood and defensive lineman Shamar Stephen are expected to be drafted while defensive end Jesse Joseph has met with a few NFL teams since UConn's pro day.

I've found it beneficial to reach out to those people who have played a significant role in the NFL Draft process. So yesterday I spent a few minutes with Tony Villani, a well-respected trainer who counts Jamal Lewis, Hines Ward, Takeo Spikes and Osi Umenyiora among some of his clients during his 12 years in charge of XPE Sports.

Villani began working with Smallwood in January and to say he was impressed with UConn's leading tackler in the 2012 and 2013 would be an understatement.

"The linebacker I love a lot and worked with for 12 years was Takeo Spikes" Villani said. "He is like a longer, rangier Takeo Spikes. His strength, his movement, his attitude all of that reminds me of Takeo, he is more of a stretched out version of a Takeo Spikes."

Spikes was a first-round pick by Cincinnati in the 1998 NFL Draft. He has recorded more than 1,400 career tackles and earned All-Pro honors twice so that's pretty high praise.

So what impresses Villani the most about Smallwood?

"His physical size and his ability for that size," Villani said. "He’s a 6-2, 245/250 pound guy with length, normally those guys are regulated to play inside or outside and not play both but he is athletic enough to play both. Normally you have those short squatty inside linebackers or you have rangy outside linebackers. He kind of fits the mold of them both size wise and ability wise so that was what I was impressed with the most."

Villani also loves Smallwood's blue-collar, no-frills approach to the game.

"You can get guys who you can call knuckleheads and he definitely has zero percent knucklehead in him," Villani said. "He is very down to earth, has a work-hard attitude. I got zero complaints about him."

One issue Villani did have with Smallwood was a troublesome hamstring. He did what he could to prepare Smallwood to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine but Smallwood had to ease up when his hamstring tightened up running the 40 at the combine. He was clocked at 5.01 but his 10-yard split was one of the best among the linebackers. Villani predicted that Smallwood would have run in the  "4.7 (second) laser range, 4.6 hand range which for somebody who is almost 250 pounds is very acceptable.

"His 10 yard among all the linebackers was probably the fifth or sixth fastest out of 35 (linebackers) so I know he got out real well. Because of his size, he wouldn’t have been one of the fifth or sixth fastest but he probably would have been in the top third, top 12.

"He had a hamstring injury that we really couldn’t get cleared up in time for the combine so we really had to focus on his positional drills and had to change the plan to make him look good on his positional workouts after the combine rather than trying to do the 40 real fast at the combine."

Villani is not sure if the lack of a top time in the 40 will impact Smallwood's draft position. He said he is hoping that Smallwood is a second-day pick which would make him either a second or third round pick. Many of the mock drafts being circulated have him going much lower than that but these mock drafts have proven to be as reliable as a Connecticut weather report in December or January.

Villani, who has 14 or 15 clients expected to be taken in this year's draft. admits he is not sure which round Smallwood will end up being taken in or the role that 5.01 40 will play come draft time.

"I think it (the slow 40 time) does in the media’s eyes because they need a lot of stuff to report about, they come out with mock drafts in mid January and do six more," Villani said. "It is weird because they say that the 40 doesn’t matter and it always ends up mattering, then when the draft happens you will find out."

The draft begins Thursday night with the first round. The second and third rounds will be held on Friday with rounds 4-7 conducted on Saturday.

According to a report by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, former UConn linebacker Yawin Smallwood had a private workout for the Atlanta Falcons.

Smallwood was UConn's leading tackler in each of the last two seasons. I've seen databases where he is rated as high as No. 3 among inside linebackers.

The NFL Draft Bible site recently updated its positional rankings and the UConn quartet of Jimmy Bennett, Jesse Joseph, Yawin Smallwood and Shamar Stephen all made the cut.

Smallwood is the No. 3 rated inside linebacker, Stephen is No. 23 among defensive tackles, Bennett is the 27th rated offensive tackle and Joseph ranks 28th among the defensive ends.

Stephen and Smallwood are also among the players listed in the NFL.com database. Stephen is tied for eighth among defensive tackles/nose tackles with a grade of  5.4 while Smallwood is tied for seventh among inside linebackers with a 5.2 grade.

There are others with Connecticut ties in the NFL Draft Bible player ratings.

Khairi Fortt of Stamford is the No. 15 outside linebacker and Silas Redd of Norwalk is the No. 27 running back while Kevin Pierre-Louis of Norwalk is the 20th rated outside linebacker. Mike Flacco (yes, he is the brother of Ravens QB Joe Flacco) of the University of New Haven is the 18th rated tight end former UConn defensive back Tevrin Brandon out of Monmouth is the No. 46 ranked cornerback.

UConn junior linebacker Yawin Smallwood was the only Husky named to the All-Eastern College Athletic Conference FBS squad.

Smallwood led the Huskies with 118 tackles, his second straight season with more than 100 tackles, and also had a team-leading four sacks.

Boston College running back Andre Williams was named the Offensive Player of the Year and Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year.

Former UConn tight end John Delahunt, a native of Ottawa, was one of 24 players taken by Ottawa in the CFL's expansion draft earlier this week.

Delahunt, who switched to fullback as a rookie with the Grey Cup finalist Hamilton Tiger-Cats, had nine catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

He was taken by the Ottawa Redblacks with the 13th overall pick in the expansion draft.

In a story in the Ottawa Citizen Delahunt said "I’m happy that it gives me a chance to play in my hometown, and I’m looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunity.”

Delahunt figures to battle it out with Patrick Lavoie, a former Montreal Alouettes fullback, who was also taken in the second round of the expansion draft. Lavoie had 33 catches during the 2012 but just six catches in 2013.

SMALLWOOD NO. 2 ILB
Yawin Smallwood, who declared for the draft after UConn's season-opening win over Memphis, is rated as the No. 2 inside linebacker trailing only Alabama's C.J. Mosley on the NFL Draft Bible's database.

Smallwood is projected as a second-round pick on the site.

Also, Shamar Stephen is rated as the No. 21 defensive tackle and projected to be taken in the fifth round.

On his weekly day-after teleconference with the Connecticut media UConn interim head coach T.J. Weist had to know that questions regarding his status as a candidate for the coaching job was going to come up.

Still, when inquiring minds wanted to know if he interviewed for the job as reports said he was going to be, there was about a six-second period of silence.

"I’ll let Warde (Manuel) handle that," Weist said. "I talked to Warde this morning, we had conversations. He really didn’t give me a timeline. He said he is going to interview some people and we will talk some but I will let Warde handle how he wants to handle it."

Weist said that Manuel, UConn's AD, said a few words to the team at this morning's meeting.

So what did he say to the squad?

"General announcements," Weist said. "He's looking for the right coach, being deliberate about getting the right person, he is starting the process now and he didn’t start it before. I’ll let him handle the rest of it."

That led to an obvious follow-up question about whether he appreciated that Manuel was true to his word and waited to do the interview process until the season was over.

"I respect the decision," Weist said. "I agree with it because I think it allows our staff, me and our players to just focus on the season and not worry about any of the other things that go on. I think it is very respectful of him to us and this program to handle it that way. I do appreciate it from the team standpoint that there weren’t distractions. I always talk to the players that we don’t need any distractions and everything worked out. Our players did a great job of not having distractions, they had good practices and everything on the outside, Warde included didn’t distract from what we were trying to do. I respect him for the fact that he did what he said he was going to do, he was going to wait until the end of the season and you know how these things work and that is what he did."

Also, we spoke to Weist yesterday before Yawin Smallwood came out and informed the media that he was declaring for the NFL Draft so I asked him for his take on the decision, the way it was handled and the impact Smallwood had on the team this season.

"I think he handled it very well," Weist said. "We were in the process of talking about it, me, him and Coach (Jon) Wholley just about what his options are and because he was graduating, he had accomplished a lot of things and he thought it was time. I agree with him, you don’t want to take away an opportunity from anybody, everybody’s got to make the personal decision. I would have loved to have had him back selfishly from a team standpoint but it could be a great thing for him, we will see how he does.

"The letter (on his decision to turn pro) that he wrote was the best I have ever read. The way he articulated it. I will tell you this, I couldn’t have written a better letter than what he wrote to the team. I was not a part of that. I didn’t see it before, he didn’t tell anybody, he did it on his own but I could not have written a better letter than that, articulating the words, the context and the things that he wanted to say shows the depth of his character and the respect that he has for this program, for his teammates and his coaches. That is exactly what you would want any player to say and I will use that letter as an example for the rest of my career in how to do it the right way.

"He didn’t have to write a letter, he didn’t have to say a word to anybody, he could have walked up and say ‘I am done, I am out.’ For him to write that letter, make it public and say the things that he said to the right people with dignity and class, I am very proud of him for doing that. After we met with the team he asked me if he could pull the team up. He pulled the team up and told them what he was doing. I think it was the right thing to do because it allowed him to basically finish off his career and the players wanted that too."

In the midst of a euphoric celebration UConn jiunior linebacker Yawin Smallwood stepped to the forefront with an announcement that didn't surprise any of his teammates.

The redshirt junior, who is being touted as a second or third-round pick in the NFL, made it official when he declared for the draft. Smallwood announced his intentions to his team in the locker room after the 45-10 win over Memphis.

"The NFL is just a dream. I have been playing this game since I was 7 years old and one thing was on my mind and that to get to the next level," Smallwood said. "I am just happy and excited that I was able to come to the University of Connecticut, these coaches worked their tail off to make sure I developed into a good player."

Smallwood, who said he came to his decision last night, felt it was important that his teammates heard the news from him rather than from a media report.

"I just told my teammates at the end of the game," said Smallwood, who finished with a team-high 118 tackles as a junior. "It was something that I wanted to do, those aren’t just my teammates, they are my brothers and we go through everything together."

Four UConn defensive players went in the third or fourth round in the 2013 NFL Draft including standout rookies Dwayne Gratz of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Sio Moore of the Oakland Raiders. He's been in contact with them during the season.

"I’ve talked to them about the next level but not about leaving," Smallwood said. "I’ve had a few conversations here or there but it ultimately was my decision. I felt it was best for me to go ahead and enter. I feel like I am ready. I felt it was the right time. It is always good when you win.

"It is real. I am happy, it is a dream come true but this is when the work starts."

His teammates were hardly surprised at the classy manner in which he informed the team of his decision.

"I am proud of him," UConn junior receiver Geremy Davis said. "He had a great career here since he stepped in freshman he was always a hard worker and when he got his opportunity to play against the big boys so he set himself up.

"Yawin always has been a humble guy and the way he did, he brought the coach and team. He didn’t go home and we had to find out in the paper, he brought the team out with his brothers and he announced it right there."

Davis could also declare for the draft but he said "I haven’t thought about leaving."

UConn senior cornerback Taylor Mack was named the American Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Week after he had two fourth-quarter interceptions in Saturday's 28-17 win over Rutgers.

It was the first multi-interception game for a Husky since 2010 and matched Mack's career interception total coming into the game. Mack also had seven tackles in the game.

It's the second straight week that a player from UConn earned that distinction as Yawin Smallwood was last week's winner. UConn did not have an individual AAC award winner this season before Smallwood was honored.

Freshman Casey Cochran was named to the honor roll after throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns.

It would be pretty hard to find a player in the country who has the respect of admiration of his teammates more than UConn junior middle linebacker Yawin Smallwood.

So when it was Smallwood stepping in front of a P.J. Walker and racing 59 yards for the winning touchdown in Saturday's win at Temple, for his teammates it was the perfect way for the Huskies to end the season-long losing streak.

"That was perfect," said cornerback Tyree Clark, who saw action as the nickel corner due to injuries to David Stevenson and Jhavon Williams. "That is how the game should have ended. My man goes in motion and I see him breaking, I plant, look over and I can see Yawin coming and know we had this play. I had to make sure I blocked my man so he couldn’t catch him."

Senior defensive end Tim Willman, who had two sacks and two fumble recoveries, was not shocked to see Smallwood step into a starring role when the Huskies needed him the most.

"When the game is on the line, your best players have to make plays and he is clearly one of our best players," Willman said.

Smallwood had a chance to intercept a pass earlier in the game and showed some frustration when he couldn't hold onto the ball. Given a second chance, he made sure history did not repeat.

"We’ve been going over that route concept all week in practice," Smallwood said, "I was geared up for it and I was waiting for it. I dropped one earlier and I just missed it so the scoreboard was 21-21 and I knew a play had to be made. I am not the type of guy who is going to wait for somebody else to make it, I needed to make the play myself. I am the leader of this defense, leader of this team so I have no problem stepping up and doing it."

This has not been the easiest of seasons for Smallwood even if he has recorded his second straight 100-tackle campaign. A year ago he was flanked by veteran linebackers Sio Moore and Jory Johnson, senior playmakers Trevardo Williams and Ryan Wirth were up front with Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Dwyane Gratz at cornerback. Injuries and graduation led to Smallwood playing alongside a relatively inexperienced defensive unit. The losses ate away at Smallwood.

"It definitely has been rough for me," Smallwood said. "I am a competitive guy and I don’t like to lose and especially since we’ve been working really hard and putting in a lot of effort but there is nothing else I can do except keep grinding, keep pushing to get better and get this team better. That has been my focus all season."

The biggest question with Smallwood is whether he will be back for his senior season. There have been multiple reports from NFL draft insiders speculating that Smallwood is going to make himself available for the 2014 NFL draft and he has been rated among the top 50 players on multiple draft databases. He said he will put his focus on his pro future at the appropriate time.

"Right now I am a college football player. I owe my respect to my team, to my coaches to focus on college football right now so that is what I am going to do," Smallwood said.

ONE FINAL GAME FOR MARCHI
When I did a feature on UConn commit Logan Marchi in the preseason, he said his No. 1 goal was to lead his St. Paul team to the playoffs as a senior. That is not going to happen as St. Paul has been eliminated from postseason contention. So tonight's game against Xavier will be the final one of his remarkable high school career.

Marchi has had an outstanding season season. His 3,220 passing yards is the seventh highest total in state history. Marchi would need to throw for 489 yards to set the state single-season record set by Cromwell's Anthony Morales in 2011. It's more likely he moves into at least the No. 3 spot (currently held UConn starting quarterback Casey Cochran) or perhaps even into the second spot. Marchi does already hold one state record with 1,182 career passing attempts.

Speaking of records, Marchi is currently tied with Cochran for the state career record with 112 passing touchdowns and he needs nine completions to break Cochran's state career record in that category. Marchi also needs 298 yards to join Cochran as the only players with 10,000 career passing yards.

When UConn interim coach T.J. Weist reflected back on the scene at halftime in Saturday's win at Temple, he mentioned two players who displayed remarkable leadership in the locker room as the Huskies faced a 21-0 deficit at halftime.

The first name is hardly a surprise as team captain and leading tackler Yawin Smallwood gathered the defense around him and acted like the leader that he is. An offensive player did the same thing but it was not one of the veteran players but redshirt freshman Casey Cochran.

Cochran was quick to spread the credit around when he recalled that scene at halftime before the offense had three scoring drives in the second half of at least 50 yards en route to a come from behind 28-21 victory.

"It is important to get everybody on the same page," Cochran said. "It is more than just yelling at the guys. I don’t do that as a quarterback of the offense. I try to get the offense more cohesive, try to get everybody on the same page and I think that is how I lead the offense. The leadership is thee on every single guy, I don’t do that much it revolves around everybody else on the offense.

"The thing that was weird was at halftime it didn’t feel like we were down 21-0. (A) 21-0 (deficit) to some people is a big deal and not a lot of people come back from that but I didn’t feel like we were out of the game at all. I think everybody on the team knew we were going to win that game even in the first half, we just had a bad half. The second half we came out and won it and that was a big deal for us."

Getting the Defensive Player of the Week honor from the American Athletic Conference wasn't the only accolade for UConn junior linebacker Yawin Smallwood.

Smallwood was named the College Football Performance Award's National Defensive Performer of the Week and the Linebacker Performer of the Week after recording eight tackles, scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 59-yard interception with 4:20 left and registering a sack on the final drive in UConn's 28-21 win over Temple. Smallwood went over the 100-tackle mark for the second straight season and more importantly, helped the Huskies snap a 10-game losing streak.

Also, senior defensive end Tim Willman was one of eight defensive linemen given honorable mention recognition after recording two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

In other news, none of the players who missed Saturday's game are listed on the two-deep chart for the Rutgers game although interim coach T.J. Weist said he hopes to have OT Kevin Friend, CB Jhavon Williams and WR John Green back.

Also, Rutgers has made a switch at quarterback as Chas Dodd will start in place of Gary Nova.

Since being elevated to interim coach T.J. Weist has walked into the visiting locker room at halftime on the wrong side of the scoreboard and knew he had to play the role of cheerleader and self-help guru as much as a football coach.

However, when Weist stepped into the locker room at halftime of last night's game at Temple, he saw a different scene. There were few bowed heads but a sense of  "enough is enough" from the leaders of the winless team.

"What did we say at halftime?" Weist said on a Sunday afternoon conference call. "Everybody wants to know ‘what did we say at halftime?’ I got a little (ticked) off and kind of challenged them a little bit but the players came together, Yawin (Smallwood) grabbed the defense and really Casey (Cochran) did a good job at halftime and really grabbed the offensive guys and brought the offense together in the locker room and challenged them. That was good to see some of our leaders challenge the team at halftime to get back to playing smart football, tough physical football. I was proud of their second half effort, shutting those guys out. Really everything came together for us in all three phases in the second half and that is what we have to do."

UConn trailed 21-0 against Temple at halftime but did not allow the Owls to score another point and had three offensive scoring drives of at least 50 yards to rally for a 28-21 win. Fittingly, it was the Huskies' veteran players who delivered many of the key plays. Junior linebacker and team captain Yawin Smallwood scored the game-winning TD on a 59-yard interception return and also had a sack on Temple's final drive. Defensive end Tim Willman had two sacks and two fumble recoveries, Geremy Davis opened the scoring with a 33-yard touchdown catch.

"That is what makes some of the (plays) special," Weist said. "Yawin, a team captain, makes the plays in the end. Tim Willman guys that the players really respect, comes through and the character shows through in the end and he makes a play when you need it. That is what you have to have. You want to win games you have to make plays and somebody’s got to make them, it is the guys who work the hardest, guys who are the starters and the team leaders those are the guys who usually come through and that is what we have been missing. It is really good for this team to see Yawin and Tim make those plays. Geremy only had four catches but they were four critical catches, every one of those catches made a difference in the game and the players trust him when he gets the ball that he does what he is supposed to do and make plays. The same thing with Yawin and that is what good teams and that is why I said we just have to learn how to win and they only learn how to win by making plays, making them at critical times and we finally did last night."


Weist had to deal with the frustration after returning home with losses following road games against Central Florida, Cincinnati and SMU so there was a different feel when the team headed back to Connecticut this time.

"There is no comparison because winning solves so many things," Weist said. "It makes everybody feel better, there is no comparison to it. This kind of win is so sweet because these players have put in so much work, the players and staff have put in so much work, so much time and so much effort to get a victory that this one is that much more special and means that much more. It may not mean anything to anybody in the country that a winless team won a game but this is one of our best victories, one of my best victories as a coach just because of how much it means to the players, to this program, to this university to come back and finally put it together. There is no comparison to the feeling you have, the satisfaction of coming back after a bad first half, coming back and getting a victory like this – there is just nothing like it."

On Thursday's conference call Weist said he brought cigars a while back with the intention of breaking them out for the staff following the first win of the season. He just didn't think it was going to take this long.

"Right after we met as a team (he broke them out)." Weist said. "We sang the fight song, we prayed, the assistant coaches got to meet with the offense and defense and we (had) a nice victory cigar. We have been waiting to do that a long time and it was a little something special."

Weist said wide receiver Shakim Phillips turned an ankle early in the game but he is hoping that Phillips can play on Saturday against Rutgers. He said he hopes to have offensive tackle Kevin Friend, DB Jhavon Williams and WR John Green back as well. Friend and Williams are dealing with concussions and Green had a quad issue. He was able to practice a little bit last week but not enough for him to play.

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