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Nephi Sewell

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Nephi Sewell
No. 45 – New Orleans Saints
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1998-12-19) December 19, 1998 (age 25)
Pago Pago, American Samoa
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Desert Hills (UT)
College:Nevada (2017–2018)
Utah (2019–2021)
Undrafted:2022
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles:15
Forced fumbles:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Nephi Sewell (born December 19, 1998) is an American Samoan professional football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nevada and Utah and was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2022.

Early life

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Sewell was born on December 19, 1998, in American Samoa.[1] He moved to the United States in 2012, and attended Desert Hills High School in Utah.[1] After recording 48 tackles and five interceptions as a sophomore, Sewell missed his entire junior season after suffering a broken neck in his first game of that year.[2] Although he was told he may never play football again, Sewell was determined to play, and ended up recovering in time for his senior season, where he played running back and ran for over 1,250 yards and scored 16 touchdowns, while helping his team win the state championship.[2][1]

College career

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Sewell committed to play college football at the University of Nevada in 2017.[3] He saw immediate playing time as a true freshman, being named the school's player of the week in his debut, where he recorded five tackles at safety.[2] He finished his first season at the school with 12 games played, eight as a starter, and 58 tackles, as well as an interception and a fumble forced and recovered.[1]

As a sophomore in 2018, Sewell started 11 games and finished the year with 53 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovered.[1] His announced his intention to transfer after the season, and although originally committing to BYU, he ended up transferring to Utah.[4] In his first season with the school, he appeared in three games and made 14 tackles.[1] Sewell changed his position from safety to linebacker for the 2020 season,[5] and placed second on the team with 40 tackles, while starting all five of their games.[1]

In 2021, Sewell appeared in 13 games, all but one of which he was a starter in at linebacker.[1] He made a total of 89 tackles, placing second on the team, and additionally recorded one forced fumble and an interception.[1] He had three games with more than 10 tackles and ranked eighth in the conference for average tackles-per-game with 6.8, being named first-team all-conference by Associated Press (AP).[1] Sewell declared for the NFL Draft following the 2021 season.[6] He finished his collegiate career with 44 career games played and 37 starts.[1]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11 1⁄2 in
(1.82 m) 		226 lb
(103 kg) 		29 3⁄8 in
(0.75 m) 		8 1⁄2 in
(0.22 m)		 4.67 s 1.64 s 2.69 s 4.33 s 7.01 s 32.0 in
(0.81 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 24 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[7][8]

After going unselected in the 2022 NFL draft, Sewell was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent.[9] He was waived at the final roster cuts on August 30,[10] and was subsequently re-signed to the practice squad.[11] He was promoted to the active roster on November 10,[12] and made his NFL debut in the Saints' 20–10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10.[13] He was waived on December 17 and re-signed to the practice squad.[14] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023.[15]

Sewell made the Saints final roster in 2023 as a special teamer, playing in 16 games.[16]

On August 27, 2024, Sewell was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform (PUP) list to begin the season.[17][18] He was activated on November 16.

Personal life

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Sewell has three brothers who play football: Gabriel, a linebacker for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL); Noah, a linebacker for the Chicago Bears; and Penei, an offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions.[19] Additionally, his uncles Richard Brown and Isaac Sopoaga played in the NFL.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Nephi Sewell". Utah Utes.
  2. ^ a b c Murray, Chris (September 14, 2017). "Sewell stands tall for Nevada". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. C1, C3 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Carr, Patrick (January 14, 2017). "Desert Hills' Nephi Sewell commits to Nevada". The Spectrum.
  4. ^ Murray, Chris (February 6, 2019). "Nephi Sewell transferring to Utah rather than BYU". NevadaSportsNet.
  5. ^ Facer, Dirk (October 19, 2020). "'I'm not complaining': Utah's Nephi Sewell latest in a line of Ute defenders to move from safety to linebacker". Deseret News.
  6. ^ Coles, Joe (December 18, 2021). "Utah linebacker Nephi Sewell declares for the NFL draft". Deseret News.
  7. ^ "Nephi Sewell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  8. ^ "2022 NFL Draft Scout Nephi Sewell College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Rose, Bob (May 11, 2022). "Saints 2022 UDFA Profile: Nephi Sewell". Sports Illustrated.
  10. ^ Sigler, John (August 30, 2022). "Saints waive rookie linebacker Nephi Sewell". USA Today.
  11. ^ Fazende, Sean (August 31, 2022). "Saints announce practice squad additions". WAFB.
  12. ^ Sigler, John (November 10, 2022). "Saints report multiple roster moves, promote practice squad LB Nephi Sewell". USA Today.
  13. ^ "Nephi Sewell Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  14. ^ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. December 17, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  15. ^ "Saints sign eight to reserve/future contracts". NewOrleansSaints.com. January 9, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  16. ^ "Nephi Sewell 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  17. ^ DeShazier, John (July 18, 2024). "New Orleans Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk placed on Reserve/PUP list". NewOrleansSaints.com. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  18. ^ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 27, 2024.
  19. ^ Waack, Terrin (August 23, 2022). "Saints LB Nephi Sewell 'excited for what the future holds' with his brothers in football". Nola.com.
  20. ^ Coles, Joe (December 19, 2019). "Utah's Nephi Sewell went from sitting out to playing in a blink of an eye — now he's in the spotlight at safety". Deseret News.
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