Sewall, Guthro named Preseason All-NEC; Bulldogs picked sixth
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Bryant University football senior Matt Sewall (Portsmouth, R.I.) and junior Dillon Guthro (Newburyport, Mass.) have been named to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference team, while the Bulldogs were tabbed to sixth in the annual preseason poll that was released on Thursday morning at the annual #NECFB Social Media Day at MetLife Stadium.
The Bulldogs are coming off a year in which they went 5-6 overall and 4-2 in the NEC, good enough for a third-place finish. Duquesne was picked as the preseason favorite, receiving four first-place votes. Defending champ Saint Francis U. (1) and Wagner (2) also garnered first-place votes and finished 2-3 in the poll. Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart were picked 4-5 and Robert Morris rounded out the poll.
Sewall earns All-NEC preseason honors after putting together an outstanding season as Bryant's top kick returner. A Second Team All-NEC selection, Sewall returned 17 kicks for 491 yards and a touchdown. He finished third nationally with 28.9 yards per return and finished the year with 1,104 all-purpose yards. Sewall was just the eighth player in school history to surpass 1,000 all-purpose yards in a single season. Also one of the Bulldogs' top receivers, Sewall caught 39 passes for 522 yards and seven touchdowns a year ago.
Guthro earns a spot on the preseason team thanks to a stellar redshirt sophomore season. He returned from an injury to start all 11 games as one of Bryant's defensive ends, finishing the season with 48 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for a loss. Guthro was third on the team in sacks and tied for the team lead in tackles for a loss. In his career, Guthro has 18.5 tackles for a loss in just 22 games.