Nephi Sewell (born December 19, 1998) is an American football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Nevada and Utah and was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent in .

Early life

Sewell was born on December 19, 1998, in American Samoa. He moved to the United States in 2012, and attended Desert Hills High School in Utah. After recording 48 tackles and five interceptions as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, Sewell missed his entire junior season after suffering a broken neck in his first game of that year. Although he was told he may never play football again, Sewell was determined to play, and ended up recovering in time for his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

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.

College career

Sewell committed to play

at the University of Nevada in 2017. He saw immediate playing time as a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, being named the school's player of the week in his debut, where he recorded five tackles at safety. 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 A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

forced and recovered. As a

in 2018, Sewell started 11 games and finished the year with 53 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovered. His announced his intention to transfer after the season, and although originally committing to BYU, he ended up transferring to Utah. In his first season with the school, he appeared in three games and made 14 tackles. Sewell changed his position from safety to linebacker for the 2020 season, and placed second on the team with 40 tackles, while starting all five of their games. In 2021, Sewell appeared in 13 games, all but one of which he was a starter in at linebacker. He made a total of 89 tackles, placing second on the team, and additionally recorded one forced fumble and an interception. 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). Sewell declared for the NFL Draft following the 2021 season. He finished his collegiate career with 44 career games played and 37 starts.

Professional career

After going unselected in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

, Sewell was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. He was waived at the final roster cuts on August 30, and was subsequently re-signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 10, and made his NFL debut in the Saints' 20–10 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in week ten. He was waived on December 17 and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023.

Personal life

Sewell has three brothers who play football: Gabriel, who is a linebacker for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL);

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

, who is a linebacker for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

; and Penei, who is an offensive tackle for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. Additionally, his uncles Richard Brown and Isaac Sopoaga both played in the NFL.

References

External links

New Orleans Saints bioUtah Utes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, Nephi 1998 births Living people American football safeties American football linebackers Players of American football from American Samoa Nevada Wolf Pack football players Utah Utes football players New Orleans Saints players