The 2020 recruiting class brought in two of the highest-ranked linebacker prospects in Oregon history. Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe were both nationally-coveted five-star recruits for the Ducks and came in at a perfect time, taking over for 2019 NFL Draft pick Troy Dye, who ended his Oregon career fourth all-time in tackles.

The two linebackers have had very different starts to their collegiate careers.

As freshmen, they competed for playing time against the remaining veterans, Dru Mathis and Isaac Slade-Matautia. Flowe appeared in just one game before missing the rest of the COVID-19 shortened season due to injury.

Sewell, on the other hand, was able to stay healthy while becoming the Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year.

The 2021 season was more of the same for the duo. Flowe returned from his season-ending injury and started off the year with force, recording 14 tackles in the opener vs. Fresno State, but he again picked up an injury that sidelined him indefinitely. All the while, Sewell repeated his dominance and was named First-team All-Pac-12.

Now the third-year backers lead their position group. Some other underclassmen should also expect opportunity in Dan Lanning's defense. The system works favorably for athletic linebackers. So much so that there have been five Georgia linebackers selected in the NFL draft over the past two seasons.

Sewell already has shown the potential of joining his brother in becoming a first-round selection. As for Flowe, well, that's the big question this year -- again.

As fall camp approaches, I have some thoughts on how the linebacker corps will look under Lanning’s regime.

When Dan Lanning got to Georgia in 2018, one of the first big recruits he was able to land was Quay Walker. The former Georgia outside linebackers coach made a big impact on the former four-star recruit and was able to coach him all the way up until this last season. Now, Walker is in the NFL, having recently been selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Lanning is at Oregon and already has his next great linebacker.

Sewell’s size compares well to what Lanning had in Walker last year. Walker has the advantage in height, having an inch (6-foot-4) over Sewell (6-3). The pair also compare in weight, Sewell being 10 pounds up (250) on Walker (240)

Sewell is already being seen as a future first-round pick with a more than impressive stat line from a season ago when he tallied 114 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks, all of which were higher totals than Walker (albeit in different situations).

Now Sewell could very well have his best year yet. Under Lanning, I believe the third-year sophomore could be well on his way to another 100-plus tackle season with double-digit tackles for loss to go with it. The NFL is a near lock for Sewell and if he can stay healthy, he could easily extend the Duck’s first-round selection streak to four years.