Tag: Noah Sewell

Noah Sewell keeps setting the bar higher with all expectations already met or passed at Oregon

The reigning Pac-12 Freshman DPOY has set the bar for success even higher this season, and by all accounts, he’s exceeding expectations.

For an Oregon Ducks fan base that was deprived of the talents of Justin Flowe a year ago due to a season-ending knee injury, it’s understandable that the former 5-star recruit has stolen much of the show so far this fall.

However, we should not let that detract from his running mate in the middle of the defense, Noah Sewell.

A former 5-star linebacker himself, Sewell put on a show in his freshman year with the Ducks, racking up 48 total tackles with two sacks in seven games, and earning the Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year award.

A year later, after finally enjoying a semi-regular offseason that has allowed ample time for development, the bar is being set even higher for Sewell, as he projects to be part of a two-headed monster in the middle of the defense next to Flowe.

According to defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, there is a reason for all of the hype that he is getting.

“I think Noah is practicing as good as anybody on our defense right now,” DeRuyter said after practice on Wednesday. “Every time we turn that tape on — whether it’s guys making strip attempts to take the ball away; whether it’s guys pursuing the football; whether it’s guys finishing a tackle — he’s almost always on the example tape.”

At 6-foot-3, 250-pounds, Sewell is a monster in the middle, serving as one of the more dominant run-stoppers that the Ducks have seen in quite some time. As the younger brother of Penei, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 7th overall pick in 2021, there were high expectations coming into Oregon, and Noah has met or exceeded nearly all of them.

“I think it’s just a really nice testament to him and Coach Wilson getting him to that point,” DeRuyter said. “But the intensity with which he practices at really sets a high standard for everybody else and sets that bat where everybody has to go play at his level.”

While Flowe has been the media darling this fall thanks to the violence and speed that he plays with, it’s easy to let someone like Sewell fly under the radar. That will be the last thing that opposing offenses want to do this coming year, though.

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With 3 of the highest recruits in Ducks’ history on the team, Tim DeRuyter’s scheme is poised for success

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Justin Flowe, and Noah Sewell are 3 of the 5-highest recruits in Oregon history, all with a chance to shine in Tim DeRuyter’s defensive scheme.

One of the most exciting things about this upcoming season for the Ducks is the thought of the unmatched talent that they will have on the defensive side of the ball.

Not only can we expect big things from freshman linebacker Justin Flowe, but there are also two game-changers lining up alongside him in both DE Kayvon Thibodeaux and LB Noah Sewell.

As a trio, they are three of the top five overall recruits in Oregon history, respectively. It’s exhilarating to imagine the type of destruction that they can bring on the defensive line.

“I’m really excited about that, and I feel that me and Noah are going to always bring it, every game that we have, every rep, and everything,” Flowe said on Tuesday. “That’s how we feel.”

One of the major benefits that the Ducks have this year as well is working under new defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter. Though it was tough to lose Andy Avalos in the offseason after he took the head coaching job at Boise State, his alma mater, Oregon isn’t skipping a beat with DeRuyter, who most recently transformed the Cal Bears defense.

“His system just ties the back-end and the front seven together very well, which is something that we really need,” said coach Mario Cristobal. “His linebackers have been very productive, and our linebackers here have been really productive.”

“I feel like we’re getting really into the playbook, so I feel like we’re cutting it more loose now,” Flowe said. “People are playing more free, and I like the way it’s going. With the defense and how Deruyter is calling his plays and everything, everything is going really good.”

When all of the players are in shells, and there is no taking anyone to the ground, it is tough to tell just how dominant a defense really is. They are playing with one hand tied behind their backs in order to keep everyone healthy.

Once Week 1 rolls around against Fresno State, though, it might be jaw-dropping to see just what this unit is capable of.

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Phil Steele honors 15 Oregon Ducks on his preseason all-Pac-12 list

A total of 15 Oregon Ducks made Phil Steele’s all-Pac-12 selections, with four Ducks making the first team.

It’s that time of year where pre-season lists are being published in the world of college football and there’s no more prestigious pre-season publisher than Phil Steele.

He has selected 15 Oregon Ducks as all-conference players with four of those Ducks on his First Team All-Pac-12 list.

It should come as no surprise that defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux would lead this particular list off. Thibodeaux has a chance to be a First-Team All-American and a very high draft choice when the NFL draft rolls around next April.

Joining Thibodeaux on the first team is offensive linemen TJ Bass and Alex Forsyth to go with cornerback Mykael Wright. Bass and Forsyth will be second-year starters for Oregon along that huge O-line and Wright was an all-Pac-12 player last season as a sophomore.

On Steele’s second-team all-conference is safety Verone McKinley III, linebacker Noah Sewell, receiver Devon Williams, offensive lineman Steven Jones, and tailback CJ Verdell.

McKinley was a freshman All-American in 2019 and Sewell was also one in 2020. Because of the pandemic, those players are still a sophomore and freshman, respectively, and look to be the core of the Oregon defense in 2021.

The 6-foot-5 Williams should be a go-to target for quarterback Anthony Brown this season as he has Jones, Bass and Forsyth to protect him. Brown is listed on Steele’s fourth-team all-conference list.

Verdell is looking to become of of the great Oregon tailbacks of all time with 68 more yards to crack the Oregon Top 10 list. He’s less than 1,000 yards away from 3,500 career yards.

Safety Jamal Hill leads Oregon on Steele’s third team along with offensive lineman Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, long snapper Karsten Battles and punter Tom Snee.

Hill played in all 14 games in 2019 and another six in 2020 where he managed to grab two interceptions. Aumavae-Laulu, at 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds will be yet another massive body on that line and Battles is a very reliable long snapper that is key to the Ducks’ special teams. Snee’s punting ability has improved each season as he averaged nearly 44 yards per punt in 2020.

Along with Brown, defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus made Steele’s fourth-team all-Pac-12 list.

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Breaking down why Isaac Slade-Matautia might have decided to transfer from Oregon Ducks

Oregon’s veteran-most LB announced his intent to transfer, which might have more to do with Oregon’s elite recruiting than anything else.

The veteran-most linebacker on the Oregon Ducks’ defense announced via his Instagram page on Friday that he plans to enter the transfer portal ahead of the 2021 season and find a new team with which to finish his college career.

The announcement definitely came as a shock to many fans of the Ducks, with Isaac Slade-Matautia standing as the most experienced player in the middle of the defense, having started for more than two years and racking up over 130 career tackles.

So why did it happen? A number of reasons could be to blame, but not all of them are bad for the Ducks. At the top of the list, it has to be considered that Tim Deruyter, Oregon’s new defensive coordinator, had something to do with it. That’s not to say that he did anything wrong or pushed Slade-Matautia out, but just an acknowledgment that playing under a new DC can sometimes be difficult, and players and coaches don’t always mesh well.

A more likely reason for Slade-Matautia’s decision to transfer — one that Duck fans should feel extremely good about — is that the recruiting in Oregon is at such a high level that the young players on the team could have pushed the veteran down the depth chart. If we’re going to try and nail down a reason as to why Slade-Matautia decided to search for a new roster to join, it likely has something to do with that.

Look at some of the defensive recruits that Oregon has gotten over the past couple of seasons that could push Slade-Matautia out of his starting job. Justin Flowe (5-star), Noah Sewell (5-star), Keith Brown (4-star), and Mase Funa (4-star). All of those players have come to the Ducks in the past couple of years, and are now entering their prime collegiate years.

At the weak-side linebacker position, Slade-Matautia was slotted to try and stave off both Flowe and Brown this offseason in order to keep his starting spot. Does the transfer announcement tell us that the depth-chart upheaval has already taken place?

While it is too bad to see a player with a desire to leave what Mario Cristobal has built in Eugene, it’s also hard to fault him. With one last season in college. of course Isaac wants to find the situation that is best for him, looking to put together one last season of tape and try to convince an NFL team to take a chance on him. It’s likely that this would have been hard to do in Oregon, with such a dynamic core of young linebackers coming up.

Duck fans can be sad to see Slade-Matautia go, but still be happy with the reason why he left. Both things can be true.

Here’s to hoping that Isaac finds a good landing spot for the next season.

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Justin Flowe joins Noah Sewell as five-star Oregon inside linebacker commits

Oregon has the commitment of the top two inside linebackers in the 2020 class: Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell.

Oregon already had a strong piece at inside linebacker with the November commitment of Noah Sewell.

With the addition of Justin Flowe on Early Signing Day, the Ducks now have the two top-rated inside linebackers in the country.

They’re just piling onto last year’s class that was highlighted by 2018 ALL-USA Defensive Player of the Year and 2019 Pac-12 Football Freshman Defensive Player of the Year Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Flowe played a role on all three phases of the game this season. He had 123 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 10 sacks with five forced fumbles. On special teams, he had a blocked punt and a blocked field goal. On offense, he carried the ball 23 times for 238 yards and five touchdowns.

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Ranked No. 4 in the Chosen 25, Flowe is now the second-highest-ranked Oregon commit of all time, behind only Thibodeaux, according to OregonLive.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound athlete chose Clemson over finalists Clemson, Miami and USC.

Sewell, who missed time early in the season, finished the year with 103 tackles, 12 TFLs and 4 sacks in just 10 games. On offense, he had 968 total yards and 16 touchdowns.

He is the No. 9 all-time Oregon commit, according to OregonLive.

Oregon won the Pac-12 championship, earning a trip to the Rose Bowl, and are No. 6 in the rankings. With Flowe and Sewell coming aboard to beef up the defense, the Ducks are gearing up for a run at the College Football Playoffs in the near future.

Five-star Noah Sewell gave Oregon recruiting win before tough ASU loss

Oregon’s loss to Arizona State on Saturday likely ended the Ducks’ dreams of a spot in the College Football Playoff. But Oregon still got good news thanks to the commitment of 5-star LB Noah Sewell.

Noah Sewell entered the weekend as one of the highest-rated recruits yet to pull the trigger on his collegiate decision. He exited the weekend as a future Oregon Duck.

Sewell, a five-star linebacker from Orem (Utah) High, committed to Oregon rather than 32 other power programs that extended offers, including Alabama, Georgia, Arizona State and others.

The reason for Sewell’s commitment to the Ducks? The All-American Bowl and Polynesian Bowl star announced his choice shortly after his Orem squad repeated as Utah state champions, and apparently picked the school where he was most comfortable.

“Noah has always felt comfortable there and, honestly, has felt like a part of that team being around those guys,” Sewell’s father, Gabriel, told 247Sports. “He has always been about visualizing things and the start Oregon had this year, especially defensively, as well as being in that locker room a couple times this year to feel the change in culture, helped open his eyes even more to the possibility of Oregon.

“The program is trending up fast in the defensive side of things. When people think of Oregon, they don’t think of a power defense. But coach Andy Avalos and that staff have developed a great relationship with Noah. When he’s watched them play, it’s been more in line with what they have been talking to him about. The relationship with coach Joe (Salave’a) and coach Mario (Cristobal) was longstanding and meant a lot to him as well.”

Sewell was in Oregon less than a month ago, celebrating the Ducks’ victory against Washington State with fans and fellow recruits. He came away convinced that Oregon’s coaching staff and system are the right fit to get the most out of him.

That’s all music to the ears of Mario Cristobal and his staff, which will get an enormous boost from Sewell’s commitment. The 6-foot-2, 266-pounder is ranked among the top-20 overall recruits nationwide and one of the top linebackers in the nation, and he told 247Sports he plans to sign in December’s Early Signing Period and enroll early in Eugene.

Georgia, Alabama miss out on 5-star linebacker

Georgia football, Alabama and a few other SEC schools missed out on a commitment from 5-sta LB Noah Sewell.

Georgia, Alabama and a few other SEC contenders missed out on securing a commitment from a five-star linebacker on Friday night from the class of 2020.

Noah Sewell, the nation’s No. 2 inside linebacker out of Orem, Utah, tweeted his commitment to Oregon after winning the Utah 5A state title game on Friday.

Sewell, a 6-2 266 pound linebacker, is a monster of a player who is too small for the defensive tackle position but too big for a defensive back. Once he slims down a bit and adds some more speed, he will be a huge difference maker for Oregon for years.

Sewell comes from a football family. He has three brothers who currently play college football; one is an offensive tackle at Oregon, one is a linebacker at Nevada and the other plays safety at Utah.

Sewell visited Georgia on September 21st for the Bulldogs’ game vs Notre Dame.