Oregon's Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe Make Butkus Award Watch List
The hype continues to build ahead of the 2022 college football season in Eugene.
On Monday, Oregon Ducks linebackers Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe were both named to the Butkus Award watch list. The award, named after former Illinois and Hall of Fame Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus, recognizes the top linebacker at the high school and college levels annually.
Sewell was a semifinalist for the award in 2021, the first Oregon player to ever earn that distinction. Iowa's Jack Campbell and Texas' DeMarvion Overshown were also named semifinalists in 2021 and find themselves on the watch list once again.
Last season, Sewell was a main cog in the Ducks' defense, registering a team-leading 114 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He also forced a pair of fumbles and was disruptive in pass coverage, defending six passes.
The 6-foot-3, 251-pound backer, brother of Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell, burst onto the college scene as a true freshman in 2020 and was named defensive freshman of the year by Pac-12 coaches.
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The other Oregon backer to make the list, Justin Flowe, enters his redshirt freshman season after missing almost all of his first two years of college football due to injury. He won the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in the country as a senior at Upland High School in 2019.
When he has been on the field for the Ducks, he's been nothing short of a spectacle. In the one game he played in 2021 against Fresno State, his first college start, Flowe recorded 14 total tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble--a performance that earned him Pac-12 Freshman of the week.
Flowe was a limited participant in spring practice for Oregon and was held out of the spring game. Coaches have not confirmed his status for the season opener against Georgia.
51 total linebackers were named to the watch list. The SEC had the most representatives with 12 and the Pac-12 was in second with nine.
Georgia's Nakobe Dean took home the award in 2021 after winning a national championship and before getting drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles.
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