Illinois' Dawuane Smoot is shaping up to be one of the top defensive players in the Big Ten, if not the country, and he received more national attention. The senior lineman was named to the 2016 Bednarik Award Watch List on Tuesday, joining 99 of college football's other top defenders.
Yes, that's a huge number of names for such a relatively specific award.
Big things coming for @BigSmoot_91. He's on the Bednarik (best def. player) watch list " https://t.co/YpWHyscMTt pic.twitter.com/zePBGpi4yK
— Illini Football (@IlliniFootball) July 5, 2016
During his junior season, Smoot recorded a total of 40.