'Generational Player': Why Sewell Will Impress Quickly
Oregon Ducks head football coach Mario Cristobal received a knock at his door from Shane Lemieux.
In the fall of 2018, Lemieux was a junior guard who was on his way to being named a first team All-American.
But Lemieux wasn’t knocking on Cristobal’s door to discuss personal accolades. In fact, Lemieux had a simple message for his coach.
“I want to play beside Penei Sewell,” Lemieux told his coach.
Cristobal took that as an eye-opener, considering Sewell was just a freshman from American Samoa. However, from the second he stepped on campus in Eugene, Cristobal knew he had something special.
“He’s a generational player,” Cristobal said. “I haven’t seen one like him.”
Showing his versatility
Sewell, the Lions first round draft pick in 2021, is viewed by many as a generational offensive line talent.
He’s projected to play right tackle, according to general manager Brad Holmes, and fits in on an offensive line that is young and talented.
Primarily a left tackle at Oregon, Sewell may need an adjustment period on paper. However, Cristobal thinks it won’t be something too difficult. Cristobal references a moment in practice in which Sewell requested to play center and his coach put him there, jokingly.
“Please, man, if you had the ball in your hand, you wouldn’t know what to do at center,” Cristobal told Sewell.
Sewell proceeded to tell Cristobal what every position on the offensive line had to do on the play that had been called.
“Yeah, but you can’t snap it,” Cristobal replied.
Sewell answered with a perfect snap.
“He will transition and he will impress you right away,” Cristobal told reporters.
‘We threw the kitchen sink at him’
Sewell may not have ever made it to Oregon had it not been for the fact that his family was neighbors with Oregon co-defensive coordinator Joe Salave’a. Cristobal and Salave’a had connected when Cristobal first arrived as the offensive line coach, discussing ways they could change the outlook on Oregon’s offensive line.
They found their answer in Sewell.
The legend of Sewell, and the process of bringing him to Oregon, began with a video that Salave’a showed Cristobal.
“It took about two, three clips to realize this is exactly what we need to establish ourselves a certain way here in the PAC-12 and at the University of Oregon,” Cristobal said.
The first time Cristobal and Sewell spoke on the phone, it wasn’t a long conversation. Sewell was on a visit elsewhere. However, the tide turned in his recruiting during the All-Polynesian football camp.
The way the camp was structured, each college could get the opportunity to have players come work specifically with them.
Cristobal made up his mind. When Sewell got to his station, he was going to make him work.
“We threw the kitchen sink at him,” Cristobal said. “We demanded tempo, we demanded technique, physicality and he absolutely crushed it and undoubtedly rose to the top of our board as the most important player of the 2018 class.”
© Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Family driven
Cristobal was present at Sewell’s draft party. When asked about the experience, he chuckled.
“There was enough food there to feed all of Detroit,” Cristobal said. “It was an unbelievable scene.”
Cristobal described Sewell’s family as tight knit. At Oregon, Sewell would always have a large contingent of family in the stands. It was no different on Thursday night, as the Sewell home was packed with family and friends.
“You could feel the love in that entire scene,” Cristobal said. “It was awesome.”
For as good as Sewell appears to be on the field, it’s largely because of the work ethic and diligence with which he works. These traits are a by-product of how his parents raised him.
“You’re not gonna find a better family,” Cristobal said. “The DNA, the principles and values of that household, how they do one thing is how they do everything. It’s full-throttle and it’s doing it the right way.”
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