Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell has already started to receive recognition ahead of his third season, as he was selected to the First Team Preseason Defense in the Walter Camp All-American Team.
Sewell and Washington defensive lineman Zion Tupuola-Fetui are the lone Pac-12 players in the First-team Preseason Defense. USC's wide receiver Jordan Addison and offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees made the First-team preseason Offense.
Since arriving to Eugene as the highest-ranked recruit out of Utah in the class of 2020, Sewell has been nothing short of a superstar.
Linebacker Noah Sewell
Noah Sewell on the Oregon sidelines.
As a true freshman who enrolled early, Sewell led the Ducks in tackles in 2020 and was awarded Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. But in his sophomore season, Sewell stepped it up a notch.
In his first full season in 2021, Sewell again led the Ducks and placed second in the Pac-12 in tackles with 114 in total. He was a first-team all-Pac-12 selection, and was the first ever Duck to be a semi-finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's best linebacker.
But when you take a closer look at Sewell's game, his talent becomes even more evident.
Linebacker Noah Sewell
Noah Sewell earned Ducks Digest's 2021 Defensive MVP.
Sewell is great on the whole, but he is elite as a pass-rushing threat from the inside linebacker position. His pass rush win rate of 32.1% led all power five conference linebackers last season, and was the highest rate from a Pac-12 linebacker since 2014.
But Sewell is still strong in pass coverage. His 389 coverage snaps without allowing a touchdown were second-best in the nation among linebackers.
Sewell enters his third, and likely final, season with Oregon still with plenty to prove. Battles ahead with the likes of Georgia and Utah, aspirations of Pac-12 titles and being selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft are some of those goals. Sewell is ready to take on the new season with the first, and certainly not the last distinction.
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