The 2020 Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year has another honor to his name. Noah Sewell has been voted Ducks Digest's Defensive Most Valuable Player after a breakout 2021 season.
DUCKS DIGEST DEFENSIVE MVP VOTING:
1. Noah Sewell - 5 votes
2. Verone McKinley III - 3 votes
T-3. Kayvon Thibodeaux - 1 vote
T-3. Popo Aumavae - 1 vote
The expectations for the former five-star linebacker were sky high after his stellar freshman season, and he topped himself in year two, earning First Team All-Pac-12 honors and Pac-12 Freshman of the Week twice. He was also named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award — the only member of the 2020 recruiting class on the list.
His leap was dramatic, finishing second in the Pac-12 in total tackles with 114 — 37 more than any other Duck — while also recording 8.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles, and five pass breakups.
After recording one double-digit tackle performance last season, he logged six in 2021, including a career-high 14 against Arizona. He was one of the lone stars of the game for Oregon in the loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game, collecting a dozen tackles (one for loss), a forced fumble, and his first career interception.
With several defensive veterans opting for the NFL draft, including Kayvon Thibodeaux, Verone McKinley III and Mykael Wright, Sewell will enter the 2022 season as the leader of the defense. He will be learning his third defensive scheme in three years, as Andy Avalos was his first defensive coordinator, followed by Tim DeRuyter in 2021 and (unofficially) Tosh Lupoi/Matt Powledge in 2022.
He will also be coached by Dan Lanning, a coach mostly responsible for developing Butkus Award winner Nakobe Dean, one of the game-changing players on the Georgia defense that has the Bulldogs one win away from winning a national championship.
With his two years of experience and excellent leadership by his side, Sewell should be set for another successful season in 2022 that skyrockets his name into NFL draft discussions as well as Butkus Award conversations.
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