Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sam Sewell Named EMU Football Assistant Coach
1/25/2019 12:11:00 PM | Football
The Denver, Colo. native will serve as the running backs coach
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Sam Sewell, the running backs coach at Indiana State University for the past two seasons, has been named an assistant football coach at Eastern Michigan University, Head Coach Chris Creighton announced today, Jan. 25. Sewell will serve as EMU's running backs coach.
"Coach Sewell comes highly recommended from coaches who know him well ," Creighton said. "He has an obvious passion for the game and for the players who play it, and that makes him a great fit for us here at Eastern Michigan. We cannot wait to get started."
Sewell has mentored running backs at three previous stops, including most recently at Indiana State. After an 0-11 season in 2017, the Sycamores completed the biggest turnaround in college football, leading the Sycamores to a 7-4 finish, a third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and a No. 22 national ranking. Coming into 2018, Indiana State was picked to finish last in the MVFC. The Sycamores closed out the season winning five-straight games, the first time that ISU had won five-straight in league play since 2012.
Running back Ja'Quan Keys collected 2018 First Team All-MVFC honors after leading the Sycamores with a league-best 13 rushing touchdowns and 135.4 yards per game. He scored multiple touchdowns in five games, including four against Eastern Illinois, and ran for over 100-yards in five games with a season-high 234 rush yards. Keys ranked second nationally in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and third in rushing yards per game and scoring per game before missing the final four games due to injury.
Sewell helped LeMonte Booker earn Honorable Mention All-MVFC in 2017 after the senior racked up 1,086 all-purpose yards. He led the team and was second in the MVFC during the regular season with 941 yards on the ground and accounted for a team-best five rushing touchdowns. He averaged 85.5 rushing yards per game and finished with 4.7 yards per carry, which was seventh-best in the MVFC among ball carriers with 100-or-more attempts. Booker put together three games with 100-plus yards rushing, including 167 yards against Youngstown State and 104 yards against the top rush defense in the country in North Dakota State.
Prior to coming to Terre Haute, Sewell spent seven seasons at the NCAA Division II level with stops at Colorado State University-Pueblo (2010-12, 2015-16) and McKendree University (2013-14).
CSU-Pueblo had the sixth-best rushing attack nationally in 2015 with 291 yards per game. The tandem of brothers Cameron and Bernard McDondle combined for 3,674 yards to establish the NCAA record for rushing yards by two backs on the same team. Cameron finished third in Harlon Hill Trophy voting after he ranked second nationally in rushing yards, rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns, while brother Bernard was first in NCAA Division II in rushing yards per carry. The two helped the Pack become just the fourth team in NCAA Division II history to produce both a 2,000-yard rusher and a 1,000 yard-rusher in the same season.
While at McKendree, Sewell coached two all-conference selections one of which led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in yards per carry. Sewell helped improve the special teams unit in nearly every statistical category, which included the Bearcats finishing second in the nation in the regular season in punt return average. He served as the recruiting coordinator for the 2013 class and assisted in the signing of 50 incoming freshmen in back-to-back years under a restricted budget and staff.
Before his time at McKendree, Sewell served as tight ends coach and special teams assistant while at CSU-Pueblo (2010-12). He helped lead the ThunderWolves to back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships in 2011 and 2012 and a combined record of 23-2. He coached All-American tight end Koby Wittek and all-region tight end Roger Pfannenschmid.
Sewell coordinated the kickoff return unit and also oversaw the high school, individual and youth camps. Sewell played tight end at University of Northern Colorado (2006-10) where he was a two-year starter.
Sewell earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in recreation tourism & hospitality in 2010.
He and his wife, Ruth, have two children: Abbi (14) and JuJu (3).
"Coach Sewell comes highly recommended from coaches who know him well ," Creighton said. "He has an obvious passion for the game and for the players who play it, and that makes him a great fit for us here at Eastern Michigan. We cannot wait to get started."
Sewell has mentored running backs at three previous stops, including most recently at Indiana State. After an 0-11 season in 2017, the Sycamores completed the biggest turnaround in college football, leading the Sycamores to a 7-4 finish, a third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and a No. 22 national ranking. Coming into 2018, Indiana State was picked to finish last in the MVFC. The Sycamores closed out the season winning five-straight games, the first time that ISU had won five-straight in league play since 2012.
Running back Ja'Quan Keys collected 2018 First Team All-MVFC honors after leading the Sycamores with a league-best 13 rushing touchdowns and 135.4 yards per game. He scored multiple touchdowns in five games, including four against Eastern Illinois, and ran for over 100-yards in five games with a season-high 234 rush yards. Keys ranked second nationally in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and third in rushing yards per game and scoring per game before missing the final four games due to injury.
Sewell helped LeMonte Booker earn Honorable Mention All-MVFC in 2017 after the senior racked up 1,086 all-purpose yards. He led the team and was second in the MVFC during the regular season with 941 yards on the ground and accounted for a team-best five rushing touchdowns. He averaged 85.5 rushing yards per game and finished with 4.7 yards per carry, which was seventh-best in the MVFC among ball carriers with 100-or-more attempts. Booker put together three games with 100-plus yards rushing, including 167 yards against Youngstown State and 104 yards against the top rush defense in the country in North Dakota State.
Prior to coming to Terre Haute, Sewell spent seven seasons at the NCAA Division II level with stops at Colorado State University-Pueblo (2010-12, 2015-16) and McKendree University (2013-14).
CSU-Pueblo had the sixth-best rushing attack nationally in 2015 with 291 yards per game. The tandem of brothers Cameron and Bernard McDondle combined for 3,674 yards to establish the NCAA record for rushing yards by two backs on the same team. Cameron finished third in Harlon Hill Trophy voting after he ranked second nationally in rushing yards, rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns, while brother Bernard was first in NCAA Division II in rushing yards per carry. The two helped the Pack become just the fourth team in NCAA Division II history to produce both a 2,000-yard rusher and a 1,000 yard-rusher in the same season.
While at McKendree, Sewell coached two all-conference selections one of which led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in yards per carry. Sewell helped improve the special teams unit in nearly every statistical category, which included the Bearcats finishing second in the nation in the regular season in punt return average. He served as the recruiting coordinator for the 2013 class and assisted in the signing of 50 incoming freshmen in back-to-back years under a restricted budget and staff.
Before his time at McKendree, Sewell served as tight ends coach and special teams assistant while at CSU-Pueblo (2010-12). He helped lead the ThunderWolves to back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships in 2011 and 2012 and a combined record of 23-2. He coached All-American tight end Koby Wittek and all-region tight end Roger Pfannenschmid.
Sewell coordinated the kickoff return unit and also oversaw the high school, individual and youth camps. Sewell played tight end at University of Northern Colorado (2006-10) where he was a two-year starter.
Sewell earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in recreation tourism & hospitality in 2010.
He and his wife, Ruth, have two children: Abbi (14) and JuJu (3).
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