247Sports
The No. 2 running back in the Class of 2022 took an official visit to Oklahoma over the weekend, and though Gavin Sawchuk has nearly 30 offers from the top programs across the country, he was ready to wrap up his recruitment. Sawchuk committed to Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma on Tuesday, choosing the Sooners over Ohio State, Notre Dame and USC.
Sawchuk is a 5-foot-11, 185-pound back out of Littleton, Colorado, who ranks as the No. 1 player in the state, a top-50 player in the country at any position and checks in at No. 2 on the 247Sports Composite among running backs. He was a part of the ChampU BBQ event in Norman, where prospects got to share time with NFL stars from Oklahoma like Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, CeeDee Lamb, Trent Williams, Adrian Peterson and many more.
According to 247Sports, Sawchuk was sold on Oklahoma thanks to conversations with strength and conditioning coach Bennie Wylie as well as running backs coach Demarco Murray. Of course, there’s always intrigue into how you’re going to be viewed by the head coach, especially as an offensive player at Oklahoma. 247Sports had the insight into Lincoln Riley’s pitch for how Sawchuk can fit into the offense.
“The big thing with Coach [Lincoln] Riley getting Gavin in the backfield and catching balls out of the backfield, motioning them out to the receiver position, that was a big piece they said we want running backs that can catch the ball,” Sawchuk’s father told 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong. “It’s not ‘we’re going to give you 30 touches and bang the ball,’ so hopefully the ability for Gavin to be a 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver.”
The addition of Sawchuk is huge for Oklahoma, as it sends the Sooners from No. 10 to No. 5 in the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings and puts them ahead of Texas for No. 1 in the Big 12 in the 2022 cycle. Sawchuk adds to the impressive list of skill position talent in the class, which includes five-star wide receiver Luther Burden, four-star running back Maleek Brown and four-star wide receiver Talyn Shettron.
