SALT LAKE CITY — Former Desert Hills High star Penei Sewell is one of the best players in all of college football, and on Monday he announced via social media that he’ll be leaving the Oregon Ducks and declaring for the 2021 NFL draft, where he is expected to be one of the first players chosen.
The 2021 draft is the first he is eligible to be selected, and with the Pac-12 not planning on playing this fall, a number of players have already declared for the draft. In a very early mock draft, ESPN’s Todd McShay has Sewell going No. 3 overall (to the Cincinnati Bengals).
Originally from American Samoa, Sewell was one of the nation’s top recruits in 2018 out of St. George’s Desert Hills, and he made an immediate impact for the Ducks as a true freshman, although his season was cut short because of injury.
That certainly didn’t slow him as a sophomore in 2019, however, as he won the Outland Trophy, given to the nation’s top interior lineman.
Sewell’s brother Noah is a true freshman for the Ducks after finishing his standout prep career in 2019 at Orem High, where their father Gabriel Sewell Sr. is currently serving as the interim head coach.