Gavin Sawchuk Didn't Waste Another Minute in Committing to the Sooners
Valor Christian High School
Gavin Sawchuk wasn’t planning on committing to the Sooners, at least not yet.
Headed into last weekend’s ChampU BBQ, Sawchuk had actually told his family he was looking to avoid pledging his future to Oklahoma, but he couldn’t deny the feeling he got when he was on campus and met with the coaching staff.
“Going into it I knew I didn’t want to commit there on the spot,” Sawchuk told Amanda Guerra on CBS Sports HQ. “But the place felt right so I decided to pull the trigger.”
Sawchuk had gotten plenty of advice from many different players throughout his recruitment, but he said one piece of advice stuck out above the rest.
“The best advice I’ve had and kind of heard it all around from everybody was when you get to the place, you’ll know it’s home,” he said.
Once he sat down in DeMarco Murray’s office during the ChampU BBQ, Sawchuk didn’t need to extend his recruitment any longer, because he knew exactly where he was.
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“For me, Oklahoma was home,” he said. “I had the feeling so I was ready to go.”
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound product of Valor Christian High School in Littleton, CO, is a consensus top five running back in the country. His explosive track speed allows him to dart past defenses in the open field, and Sawchuk’s ability to stop and start on a dime allows him to find holes and bob and weave his way forward.
Now, he said he’s very excited for the opportunity to get coached by Murray, a guy who he likens his skillset to.
“Being able to be coached by DeMarco, he’s fresh out of the league. He’s very similar to what my game is I would say, and it’s gonna be great being able to learn from him,” Sawchuk said. “They see what I can be as a running back. Being able to be versatile in all phases of the game, running the ball, catching the ball. So that’s one thing they definitely see in me.”
Though most of his recruitment was hampered by the pandemic, Sawchuk said he was able to get out and see a few schools who were in on him early, like Oklahoma, to help his recruitment along.
“I was blessed I was able to get some of those offers early so I made a good amount of trips before COVID hit,” he said. “But COVID made it really hard. It was great that we were able to get on Zoom calls, be able to talk to coaches over the phone, so that was amazing being able to do that, but it was definitely tough.”
Committing to Oklahoma is just the beginning for Sawchuk, as he said he has lofty goals once he gets on campus. Along with being a great leader and winning a National Championship, Sawchuk said he wants to be the first Oklahoma running back to win the historic Doak Walker award as the top running back in the nation.
“I want to improve my game all around,” he said. “I’m really excited for it.”
