Sawchuk Could Be the Next Great Colorado Back
Gavin Sawchuk may be one of the best recruits to come out of the state of Colorado since Christian McCaffrey.
He hails from the high school and plays the same position.
Sawchuk had a quick rise to one of the top running backs in the country for the 2022 class. He excelled during his freshman football season then ran a 10.62 100-meter dash, putting schools on notice.
"Well my first offer was from Michigan (in January 2019)," Sawchuk said. "And after that one, I kind of started to receive a lot more attention. Coaches calling me and people following me on twitter and stuff."
He became the lead back during his sophomore year at Valor Christian and subsequently blossomed into a national recruit. He ran for 1,786 yards and 27 touchdowns, averaging 9.1 yards per carry.
He now holds 20 Power-5 offers including Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon and Ohio State. He's rated on 247Sports as the No. 4 running back in the nation.
"It has been a lot to work with but I’m really blessed that I have these opportunities at such an early stage of the process so I don’t have to stress about it," Sawchuk said. "When it comes down to making a decision, I won’t have to worry about places I haven’t seen."
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound back has started sifting through his offers and figuring out how to narrow down his options. He created an excel spreadsheet to organize his options and prioritize the qualifications he looks for in a school.
"Of course, I want a good program, a good football program," Sawchuk said. "But the main thing I've been looking for is education. I just want to be able to get a degree that I can carry with me into something for the future, as well as just find a place with a good culture."
Sawchuk wants to major in engineering, he's not sure what field but is leaning towards mechanical. He's considering schools that offer a top-notch education such as Stanford, Michigan and Notre Dame.
He is also still considering staying in-state.
"I’d definitely be interested," Sawchuk said. "It's one of the things that we've really been talking about as a family is making it easy travel, access for them. And I know staying in-state would be great travel access for them."
Sawchuk visited Colorado under the last staff. He has yet to talk to the new stuff but still keeps in touch with offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini.
"When I went to CU last year, I had a great time out there," Sawchuk said. "I know it’s a different coaching staff (now) but I enjoyed being up there. I know a couple of the kids up there. I played football with Joshia Davis so I’ve been talking to him about the school a little bit and just being up there. So I’m really excited to get up there and see the new staff."
Sawchuk is an elite sprinter. Not many freshmen in high school run below 11 seconds in the 100-meter, Sawchuk ran a 10.62. He may have to make a tough decision on whether or not to compete in track in college.
"I would like to do track as a second sport (in college)," Sawchuk said. "Definitely football is the main. At least with my position, it’s kind of hard to drop weight for track and then build it back up for football season. So I understand the difference there. But I would definitely like to do both track and football."
Track and field has different rules in terms of recruiting so he has yet to be contacted by any coaches. But you can bet, with those kinds of numbers, he will be highly sought after.
If the recruiting dead period ends this summer Sawchuk would like to visit Wisconsin, Northwestern, USC, Stanford, Cal and Washington.
As well as re-visit Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and Colorado.