If you were at Oregon’s game in Tempe, Arizona, against the Sun Devils or watching it on TV, you might have noticed something out of the ordinary. As pregame warmups came to a close, a majority of Ducks players huddled around one of their peers as he delivered a passionate hype-up speech.
While the act itself was a normality, the individual doing it was someone you may not have expected. It wasn’t the soft-spoken Justin Herbert, nor was it defensive captain Troy Dye. For that matter, it wasn’t even an upperclassman.
Sophomore offensive tackle Penei Sewell stood in the midst of a group of his teammates as they swayed back and forth listening to his words.
Offensive linemen don’t usually end up being captains, let alone give pregame speeches, but Sewell isn’t your typical offensive linemen.
In just his second year, he’s garnering attention as perhaps the nation’s best lineman, giving postgame interviews on national TV, and he’s in the running for a variety of awards.
Most of all though, Sewell has helped elevate the Oregon program to heights it hasn’t reached since 2014 — furthering the toughness and brotherhood of the program along with it.
As a freshman, the American Samoa native joined a veteran-laiden offensive line and took up the most important position of all: guarding Herbert’s blindside. Despite relative inexperience compared to his fellow linemen, Sewell wasted no time asserting himself as perhaps the best of the unit.
“Experience is overrated in my opinion,” offensive line coach Alex Mirabal said. “Experience has nothing to do with preparation. You still got to prepare whether you’re a guy who’s started 38 games, like some of these guys have, or you’re a guy who’s only started 13 or five or whatever it is. … Experience is what happened in the past, not about what you do now or going forward.”
First-year starters often struggle given the nuance and technique required of the position. Sewell didn’t — and in the process became the first true freshman offensive lineman to start the first game of the season for Oregon since 1997.
“He was a guy who played above his years,” Mirabal said. “He’s just dominant.”
Sewell only played in seven games before his season was cut short due to an ankle injury, but with him in the lineup, the Ducks were 6-1. In his 450 snaps, he didn’t commit a penalty and only gave up one sack.
The 6-foot-6, around 320-pound tackle helped establish Oregon’s power run game and a level of toughness the program had lacked in recent years, collecting plenty of accolades along the way.
He earned Freshman All-American honors from both USA Today and 247Sports and was rated the top freshman offensive lineman overall, the No. 2 offensive lineman in the Pac-12 and the No. 7 tackle in the nation with an 84.0 grade from Pro Football Focus.
After rehabbing throughout the offseason, it became clear that Sewell was ready for yet another breakout, this time on a national scale.
“The next step is to become dominant play in and play out,” Mirabal said of the second-year tackle. “That’s the thing, the consistency of it, the durability. He has a higher level of expectation for himself now that he’s done it for a year. He’s the one who’s continuing to push himself to get better … He’s very very hard on himself.”
Sewell wants to be the best and thus far, he has been.
He has allowed a mere six pressures all year, and has yet to allow a sack. His 94.7 run blocking grade leads the nation, and his overall PFF grade is on pace to be the best ever for a tackle. He’s also a finalist for the Outland Trophy, which is given annually to the nation’s best college interior lineman on either side of the ball.
“I was going crazy,” Sewell said. “I just wanted to get out there and play the sport I love. … [I learned] patience and [an increased] vision of the game. I see more things out there, more attention to detail.”
He excels in pass protection, bringing an unmatched combination of strength and agility. His strong hands and sound technique make it hard for edge rushers to gain a favorable angle and pressure the quarterback. It’s when he can get out and flash his elite speed that Sewell’s at his best, though.
“Screens,” he said. “That’s probably my favorite block. It gets me going. It’s just knowing that I can use my ability and run through somebody.”
Not only does Sewell dominate his own man, but he can often be found down field throwing his body around, often pancaking multiple defenders in one play, allowing running backs to streak through open holes.
“[I feel] so different,” Sewell said. “I can finish the game out better. Everything [is] more comfortable. I can move faster, more conditioning. Last year I was still trying to get plays here and there.This year I know it in and out, so I’m trying to add some of my things to it.”
Sewell has become the face of Oregon’s offensive line, but that’s not to say the others aren’t talented in their own rights.
While Sewell’s a rare talent, he also benefited from a rare situation. He was able to learn and grow alongside a group of upperclassmen who, similar to himself, had been starters for almost their entire careers.
With the four linemen to his right executing their jobs near-flawlessly, it’s far easier for Sewell to succeed.
“The synergy in that group, nothing will come between them,” Mirabal said. “They do not allow the competition to come between the brotherhood that the whole group has.”
A competitive brotherhood atmosphere isn’t new to Sewell. He grew up around the sport and has two brothers who play as well.
“On the sand growing up as little kids,” he said, “we played sand football with a bottle with some sand in it. It was just fun. I don’t know, I think it shaped me into the man I am today.”
Penei wasn’t always the largest Sewell brother. In fact, his eldest brother Gabriel — now a senior linebacker at Nevada — was the bigger, stronger brother. It didn’t last, though, as Sewell recalls eighth grade being the last year he wasn’t the biggest of the brothers.
Their younger brother, Noah, a recent Oregon commit and five-star linebacker is big too. He’s 6-foot-2 and 265 pounds, but moves like he’s much lighter. Just like his brother Penei, he’s a dominant athlete, ranking in the top-20 for SPARQ score nationally in his class.
When Mario Cristobal took over as head coach two seasons ago, he set out to create a brotherhood. Now, although there’s much work to do, his roster reflects this — both figuratively and literally — as the presence of another Sewell adds to a roster which already harbours three sets of brothers: the Dyes, running back Travis and linebacker Troy; the Herberts in quarterback Justin and freshman tight end Patrick; and the Faolius, Andrew and Austin, both defensive linemen.
Given the history of brotherhood both past and current, it’s not surprising that Noah elected to continue his playing career alongside his brother, especially when you factor in the relationship Penei and his family have to Cristobal.
“Definitely more love is shown our way,” Sewell said when asked what it’s like to have a former offensive lineman as their coach.
The similarities have helped the young tackle and former Miami tackle create a strong bond, and Cristobal isn’t shy about making it known how bullish he is on the young talent.
“He’s the best i’ve ever coached, or very well has the chance to be,” Cristobal said.
Although he’d likely be a top-5 pick in the NFL Draft if he left this year, Sewell is required to play at least one more season. While the Civil War, Pac-12 Championship Game and potential Rose Bowl appearance are still on the docket for this year, the challenge of next season looms large as Sewell will be the lone returnee along the line.
He will no longer have a support system to lean on and instead will be forced to take on a more complete leadership role as the next generation of Oregon linemen come into their own.
