With Nephi Sewell and Utah on tap, Washington State’s Nick Rolovich recalls meeting Samoan brothers as ‘young ones’

Nick Rolovich wasn’t able to swing all four, but batting .250 in the Sewell household is nothing to be ashamed of either.

In January 2015, Nevada’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach paid one final visit to the Samoan family in St. George, Utah, specifically to check in on Gabriel Sewell Jr., a three-star linebacker who’d sign with the Mountain West school one month later.

It’s unrealistic to expect that Rolovich will remember the fine details of every recruiting trip he’s taken in 13 years as a head coach or assistant, but those involving a Sewell brother were hard to forget – understandably so.

“Gabe was the first one and we loved Gabe when we were at Nevada,” Rolovich said earlier this week. “You see the young ones running around and observing the recruiting of the older brother. I’m sure it helped them. It’s good to see a family with such love between each other, whether they were football players or not. I think it was a positive experience.”

The “young ones” in this instance are Penei Sewell, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound offensive tackle who recently opted out of the 2020 season at Oregon to prepare for the NFL draft, where he’s projected to be a top-five pick, Noah Sewell, a 6-3, 250-pound freshman linebacker at Oregon who disrupted Rolovich’s run-and-shoot offense with a sack and a tackle for loss when the Ducks beat Washington State 43-29 earlier this season, and Nephi Sewell, a starting linebacker at Utah who’ll test WSU this weekend when the Utes (2-2) and the Cougars (1-2) meet in Salt Lake City at 10:30 a.m.

“Incredible family, all good athletes, wonderful mom, wonderful dad,” Rolovich said.

Nearly a month ago, before WSU played Oregon in Pullman, Rolovich was in the middle of his Thursday radio show when he recounted a story about the time he challenged a middle-school aged Noah Sewell to a backyard basketball game while in Utah recruiting Gabe. The agile and athletic sixth-grader dribbled around him, shot over him and embarrassed the 35-year-old coach, winning their friendly 1-on-1 duel.

“I haven’t been beat in basketball by a sixth-grader very often,” Rolovich said.

When that anecdote was shared on social media last month, Gabe Sewell responded saying there may be lost footage of the famed basketball matchup.

“I think I might have some video of that game. Malo Uso @NickRolovich jus chokking.”

Two years later, Rolovich’s staff at the University of Hawaii was the first to offer Noah, at the time just an eighth-grader. By the time Sewell chose Oregon, more than 30 other programs were in the mix for the nation’s second-rated linebacker – Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia among them.

“I am grateful to receive an offer from the University of Hawaii in my young age. #PrideRock #blessed,” the future five-star prospect wrote on his Twitter account on April 24, 2016.

If you dig far enough, photos exist of Noah wearing a crimson WSU jersey, and posing with former Cougar edge rusher Logan Tago during a recruiting trip to Pullman in June 2018.

Tago and the Sewells, who moved to Utah from American Samoa, had been familiar with each other from the American Youth Football of Samoa (AYFS) organization.

Mike Leach and Rolovich both threw their hats in the ring when it came to the Penei Sewell sweepstakes, offering the nation’s second-rated offensive guard within 14 days of each other during the spring of 2016.

Rolovich wasn’t in Reno when the Wolf Pack signed Nephi Sewell, who transferred to Utah as a walk-on in 2019. There’s no evidence of Rolovich offering him at Hawaii, but he did pursue all four Sewell brothers to some extent, and even if it’s been at his team’s expense, he’s enjoyed seeing them thrive.

“Some more than others, but whatever level of recruitment it was I always enjoyed getting to talk to the family and seeing them,” Rolovich said. “But I think we talked to all of them at some point and at different levels. … I stayed close with their family. They’ve had four boys who’ve all gone and played college football, so really nice people. Probably one of the best families I got to know through recruiting.”

Nephi has emerged as a playmaker for Kyle Whittingham, starting each of Utah’s four games this season at linebacker, recording 11 tackles, one fumble recovery and an interception in the Utes’ upset of Colorado last weekend – a win that guaranteed the Buffaloes wouldn’t qualify for the Pac-12 title game.

He’s already had success against the Cougars, too. Those who hadn’t already left Martin Stadium, or turned off the Pac-12 Networks broadcast, may remember a freshman safety at Nevada intercepting Tyler Hilinski in the fourth quarter of a 45-7 rout in 2017. The player who came up with the pick was Nephi, who also led both teams with 10 tackles and contributed to a tackle for loss. Gabe Sewell played in the game, too, registering three tackles.

“It’s fun for me. I’m impressed whether it’s Penei or Gabe or Nephi or Noah,” Rolovich said. “They’re fun to watch play football. Nephi got a touchdown, has a bunch of tackles. He’s a smart football player, he’s physical, passionate much like the rest of the family. So for me, I remember when he was a young kid coming up and at Nevada I know he played early, then he kind of made the transition up to Utah.

“With what he’s made of, his character, you knew he was going to contribute to that team at some point, somehow, and he is.”