On October 9, 2000, Penei Sewell was born in the town of Malaeimi, which is located in American Samoa close to the capital city of Pago Pago. After their father Gabriel started coaching American football, Sewell and his three brothers began playing the game together when he was a toddler.
In 2012, Gabriel relocated his family to St. George, Utah, because he believed the city offered a better chance for his children to achieve their dream of playing in the National Football League.
The Detroit Lions chose Sewell with the seventh overall pick in the NFL Draft of 2021 because he was considered to be one of the top overall prospects in that draft. In May of 2021, he had a positive test for COVID-19, which meant that he was required to miss minicamp. In the same month, he signed a rookie contract worth a total of $24.1 million that was for four years.
Where did Penei Sewell go to high school?
Desert Hills High School was Sewell’s alma mater, where he also participated in football. As a high school senior in 2018, Sewell participated in the US Army All-American Bowl as well as the Polynesian Bowl before making his college football commitment to the University of Oregon to play for the Oregon Ducks.
