Need A Game To Prove Noah Sewell Was A Steal? His Coach Has The One

At one point in time, Noah Sewell was considered a possible future 1st round pick. He'd had an outstanding season in 2021 for Oregon. Expectations were he would do more of the same as a junior in 2022. Then things got complicated. Head coach Mario Cristobal left with his staff for Miami. A replacement came in and brought new defensive coaches in and with them, a new scheme. Sewell had to completely re-learn the position with new responsibilities. It unsurprisingly affected his production, and that led to him falling on draft boards.

Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi has nothing but respect for what Sewell did. He didn't complain. The linebacker made the best of a tough situation and ended up becoming an invaluable leader during a time of transition. He also showed a ton of improvement in the new system as the season went along. Lupoi recalled one game where he realized the kid had everything required to be great on Sundays. He described it to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune.

"The Utah game was awesome. It was a great moment for our culture and our defense overall. They had just blown out USC for the first time and they were the front-runner to win our conference, which they ended up doing. Our defense held them to one touchdown that night, a big moment when he stepped up and played a big role in that success. He had a big-time interception and had multiple havoc plays in the backfield, tackles for loss, and did some impressive things. He had practiced really hard and well that week, and it was awesome to see him perform at a high level in one of the highest stages of the year."

It gets even better when you realize how much control Sewell had.

Lupoi explained how much the new coaching staff put on the linebacker's plate. Not only did they ask him to learn the scheme, but they also put the responsibility on him to be the leader in the huddle. He would play that middle linebacker-type role of calling plays out and getting everybody lined up.

"We put a lot on him, a lot of new terminology, a lot of volume. We asked him to play stack backer. We asked him to play at the line of scrimmage. We asked him to be verbal and an individual that aligned our defense. Although we put a lot on his shoulders, he never complained, never really hesitated and was someone we could depend on."

How good was his performance against Utah? The Utes offense had scored 45 and 42 points in the two games before facing Oregon. They scored 63 and 47 points in the two games after. Oregon gave up 17. That was the fewest Utah would score all year. It was a marvelous performance.

Noah Sewell was always a big-game player.

He was a huge part of Oregon's upset of Ohio State in 2021. He was the lone bright spot against Utah in the Pac-12 championship later that year. This guy seems to thrive when the lights are on. He's tough, a good athlete, versatile, and has a sharp football intelligence. Normally when players check those boxes, they end up being pretty good in the NFL. Perhaps that is why it was a shock to many that he fell to the 5th round. Everything says he should've gone much earlier than that.

Not that the Bears are complaining. They feel they got somebody that can be a future contributor for their defense. Matt Eberflus' scheme is a great fit for what Noah Sewell does best. The Tampa-2 is probably the most linebacker-friendly system in the league. He couldn't have asked for a better landing spot. The competition will be fierce. Jack Sanborn and T.J. Edwards stand ahead of him at the outside spots. He has a lot of work to do. If his former coach is right, expect him to meet the challenge.