Yawin Smallwood Named Big East Defensive Player of the Week

Week one of the college football season down and one of the linebackers from the UConn Huskies defensive unit has been honored as Big East Defensive Player of the Week. Here's the release: PROVIDENCE, R.I. - University of Connecticut redshirt sophomore linebacker Yawin Smallwood (Worcester, Mass.) was named the BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Smallwood keyed a Connecticut defense that turned in its first shutout since the 2007 season with a 37-0 win against Massachusetts. He had a team-high seven tackles to go with a sack, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup as the Huskies didn’t allow the Minutemen to cross midfield. Connecticut allowed just 59 yards of offense — the fewest of any Bowl Subdivision team in Week 1 — and limited Massachusetts to just three first downs and an average of 1.3 yards per play. Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib was the Offensive Player of the Week while the Special Teams Player of the Week was Temple kicker/p...