Oregon's Noah Sewell Lands on Butkus Award Watch List for Nation's Best Linebacker

The American Samoa native was one of 51 names on the list, which includes seven other Pac-12 talents such as USC's Drake Jackson and Washington's Zion Tupuola-Fetui.

Sewell has already made a name for himself since arriving on campus in Eugene as part of Oregon's 2020 recruiting class, and is widely-viewed as one of the conference's best defensive talents after being named the 2020 Defensive Freshman of the Year. As a first year phenom, he appeared in all seven games and was Oregon's leading tackler with 45.

He totaled 6.5 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and a forced fumble. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound backer was the first Duck to lead the team in tackles as a freshman since Troy Dye, who became a tackling machine during his days in the green and yellow.

No. 1 also proved hard to keep off the field even when he isn't 100%, surprising many by suiting up against Oregon State less than a week after being carted off the field against UCLA with what appeared to be a significant leg injury. Sewell is one of the most athletic linebackers in the entire Power 5 and many in the Oregon community are excited about the possibility of him lining up alongside Justin Flowe, the other half of the most-talented linebacker haul the program has seen in a single signing class. 

Other preseason honors for Sewell include:

• Phil Steele Pac-12 All-Conference second team
• Athlon Sports Pac-12 All-Conference third team