Timing, patience, hard work fueling Gavin Sawchuk's Sooner ascension

Gavin Sawchuk has always been taught to make the most of his opportunities. His mother, Tammy, often reminds him that things will work out when the timing is right. Until then, it's about continuing to work hard and trust the process.

In a lot of ways, it's been the story of his playing career at Oklahoma. So it was fitting that his best performance as a collegiate running back came last weekend, when his team really needed it.

It came at the perfect time.

After starting the season 7-0, the Sooners dropped back-to-back games heading into a pivotal matchup with West Virginia. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, had won back-to-back games, and another loss would jeopardize OU’s chances of reaching the Big 12 title game. The angst at Owen Field was palpable after the Mountaineers scored on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.

But Gavin made sure the Sooners responded quickly. The redshirt freshman broke off a 30-yard run on the following possession and reached the WVU two-yard line, setting up a goal-line touchdown from Dillon Gabriel to quickly tie the game.

Gavin helped make sure that was the only time the Mountaineers threatened the Sooners. He finished the game with a career-high 135 yards on 22 carries, leading the Sooners to a much-needed 59-20 win that helped stabilize the season.

Tammy and Gavin's father, Kevin, were in the crowd as he carved up the WVU defense in his best performance as a Sooner.

“I think my comment to Tammy after leaving that game was, ‘Our son is the starting running back at Oklahoma,’” Kevin told OUInsider. “It’s pretty unreal.”

It was a timely performance for both the Sooners and Gavin, who’s worked hard to become an important part of the Sooners’ offense. But it’s a path that’s required some patience.

There was a lot of excitement when Gavin joined the Sooners’ 2022 recruiting class. The former Valor Christian High School running back recorded over 2,000 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns as a senior, and he won the Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year award in 2020 and 2021. He was rated the state’s No. 1 prospect by Rivals and held offers from several FBS schools, including Ohio State, USC and Notre Dame. But he developed a connection with OU head coach Brent Venables and running backs coach DeMarco Murray, and chose the Sooners.

As a true freshman, he faced a crowded running back room. In addition to Marcus Major, Tawee Walker and fellow 2022 four-star running back Jovantae Barnes, the Sooners also had veteran Eric Gray projected to overtake the starting job. Gray recorded nearly 1,600 total yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry in 2022, finishing with the ninth-most rushing yards in a single season by an OU running back. He was eventually drafted by the New York Giants earlier this year.

With Gray serving as the fulcrum on offense, and Barnes playing back-up reps, Gavin saw just two carries during the regular season and spent much of the year as the scout team running back. But for Gavin, it was an opportunity to grow and learn.

“At first, it was a little hard,” Tammy said, "being in that transition from high school where you’re the guy and basically going to college and you’re sitting behind, it was a hard transition (for) me and Kevin. For Gavin, it didn’t seem like it was. He understood in that moment his role on the team. He needed to work. He needed to learn, whether it was from conversations with DeMarco or just watching and being in the running back room.

“He was good. But Kevin and I were like, ‘Wait a minute. You’re the Gatorade Player of the Year, you’re sitting on the scout team?’ It was just an adjustment for us. We needed to change our mindset and support him where he was. And he was at a place where he felt he needed to be learning, watching, growing.

“I still remember we talked about it,” Kevin added. “We were like, ‘He’s happy. And if he’s happy, we should be happy.’ He embraced it. He totally embraced it because his whole thing was he was on the scout team for the majority of the year. He was like, ‘Man, I’m going against the No. 1 defense every day. I’m getting better.’ So he knew it. He was like, I’ve got a lot to learn. He never felt like, ‘I should be the guy.’

That patience and work more than paid off. After the regular season ended, Gray declared for the NFL Draft and opted out of the Sooners’ appearance in the Cheez-It Bowl. That presented an opportunity for both Gavin and Barnes, who saw elevated roles in Gray’s absence.

Both took advantage. Gavin ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and the young running backs became the first OU freshmen duo to each run for over 100 yards in the same game in over three decades.

Making it to Orlando, Florida for the game was quite the task for Kevin and Tammy, who were affected by the widespread flight issues that began just a few days before the game on Dec. 29. They, along with Gavin’s younger brother Gabe, ended up having to drive from Denver, Colorado to Orlando — a 24-hour endeavor — to make sure they were in the crowd at Camping World Stadium.

“We were ready to see something when we got there,” Kevin joked. “We knew he was going to get some reps and some play, but we didn’t think it was going to be anything like that.”

Even though the Sooners narrowly lost that game, 35-32, it was a prime example of Gavin’s on-field potential, and it helped build optimism for the team and fanbase heading into 2023. That excitement continued to build in spring practices when Gavin saw a lot of the first-team reps, including in the spring game. But before this season began, Gavin suffered a hamstring injury that limited his participation in fall camp.

It was an unexpected setback, and the treatment included something that’s not necessarily Gavin’s strong suit — resting.

“He’s pretty resilient,” Kevin said. “He’s had that type of injury before. The problem that we run into with him is, it’s hard to tell him to stop. For him to heal and recover sometimes can be longer because he just pushes through pain, pushes through injury. Some of those issues like that hammy injury, there’s no pushing through it. It’s not like it’s going to heal. You've got to just rest."

Gavin saw limited opportunities early in the season as he continued to recover. He had just 18 rushing attempts through the first six weeks and didn’t play in the season opener against Arkansas State, as the team continued to be careful with Gavin’s injury.

"We were really just trying to tell Gavin, 'You took the load all spring,'" Kevin said. "... Him and Tawee, for the most part, were the only healthy running backs. They were taking a lot of load all spring, all summer. Then fall camp comes and bang, he gets hit with that hammy injury. And I told him, 'Let them take the load. You've been taking it all year. Rest.' It was really just getting him to rest. The other running backs helped out and did their thing.'"

But the explosiveness he showed against Florida State has started to show up in recent weeks. His first big moment came against UCF last month — his first career start — when he scored on a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter to help seal a 31-29 win.

He’s started each of the last four games as the Sooners have started to lean on him more and more. And as he’s gotten more work, he’s found his rhythm. Earlier this month, he set a then-career high against Oklahoma State with 111 yards on 13 carries, which included a 64-yard touchdown on the Sooners’ first drive, the team’s longest run of the season.

Then, of course, Gavin set a new career high against the Mountaineers, but he did more than that. He played a season-high 53 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and routinely showed his ability to break tackles, with 103 of his 135 yards coming after contact.

"He’s hitting his stride," OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said after the game. "He’s played well the last few weeks, which has been really good for him and for us being able to run the football. We’re going to need him again as we go on the road next week (at BYU). I’m proud of him just staying the course and just trusting himself, being who he is, but getting into really good football-playing shape, game shape, which has taken some time with his injuries early. I’m proud of how he’s playing.

Over the last two weeks, he’s turned 35 carries into 246 yards (seven yards per carry). It's been massive for the Sooners' running game, which has had its inconsistencies this season.

It's clear he’s in a different rhythm compared to earlier in the season.

“I do think that there’s something to getting in a groove, if you will,” Venables said when asked by OUInsider on Tuesday. “And there’s a timing aspect, there’s a practice aspect and element that’s important. Getting hit and timing, how blocks move and things of that nature… So battling back from kind of a nagging injury, getting into the flow, and it’s not easy, because as a coach you’re trying to find out who’s the most ready right now in this moment and there’s one running back on the field at a time.

“So, having some patience along the way for Gavin — he’s got a great support system, amazing family and DeMarco does a good job of holding guys accountable… but good for him from a maturity standpoint and being prepared for his opportunity and then hanging in there and getting a little bit better the more that he’s played.”

But ask those closest to Gavin, and they’ll say he’s quick to give credit to his teammates. So it was no surprise that’s what he did following his performance against West Virginia.

“(I have) complete confidence in my team, everybody around me,” Sawchuk told OUInsider. “Just being able to play for them, being thankful for guys out there on the field grinding, in practice grinding with me, just really putting it all on the line for them, not just playing for myself. I’ve got brothers that are counting on me. So I’m playing for them, as well.”

Tammy often reminds her sons to be ready for their opportunities. And after an early setback, Gavin has worked to make the most of his.

The timing seems to be right for both the Sooners and Gavin.

“It’s very gratifying,” Tammy said. “Gavin and I talk about timing all the time and how things will work when the timing is right. So for him to be patient and then to trust himself, to trust his coaches, the program, his teammates, the running back room, and then to see it all pay off, it’s just… There’s nothing more I could ask for.”