CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard football running back Semar Smith has been selected to the FCS National Freshman Performer of the Year Watch List, the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) announced Thursday.

Smith has appeared in five games, rushing for 333 yards (66.6 ypg) and one touchdown. The rookie has appeared especially comfortable as of late, averaging 93.3 yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry.

Smith was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after he totaled 114 yards on 11 carries for a 10.4 avg. vs. Columbia last Saturday. A native of Coral Springs, Florida, Smith had a long rush of 29 yards and added a three-yard run for a TD.

 The initial watch list includes thirty players from the Football Championship Subdivision. All players are eligible for awards at their respective positions; players are not preemptively eliminated from consideration.

Smith and the Crimson visit Penn Saturday afternoon looking to clinch a share of the program's 16th Ivy League title and eighth under Tim Murphy, The Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football. Game time in Philadelphia is set for 1 p.m.