With Larry McSwain pulling in all kinds of pre-season honors, it's nice to see another defensive player getting some recognition. Linebacker Mastaki Smith is on the watch list for the Butkus Award. The award is given each year to the best linebacker in college football and has gone to such greats as Derrick Thomas and Brian Bosworth. He finds himself in good company here, with the likes of Juwan Simpson, Brandon Siler, Ali Highsmith, and Patrick Willis also making the list.