Florida State has been looking to add some firepower to its running back room.
The Seminoles hosted a running back on campus Friday that they are familiar with. Oklahoma transfer Gavin Sawchuk rushed for 100 yards on 15 carries when he faced FSU in the Cheez-It Bowl after the 2022 season. Now he is considering a transfer to the garnet and gold.
"Florida State's a great school," Sawchuk said of his visit. "Obviously I had experience playing them my freshman year and losing to them. The staff recruited me from high school so the opportunity to even reconnect with them and just have some of those same feelings and sentiment towards me when I entered the portal. It's just been great."
Sawchuk's entry into the portal was a little late in comparison to other running backs in the market. While Sawchuk was looking for what opportunities arose, Florida State was the first to reach out.
"I had my high school coach kind of helping me out and talking to some schools and seeing what the opportunity would be since it was so late (that I entered). They were first at the door," Sawchuk said.
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Sawchuk has also been in contact with West Virginia, Michigan State and a few other unnamed programs. Past his visit to Florida State, Sawchuk wants to make a decision quickly but does intend to see at least one other option.
"I want to make it quick. I don't really want to make this a super long process. I want to find a home," Sawchuk said. "I have a visit scheduled at West Virginia and I'm working on just finding some things with some other schools. But every chance I get, I'm just collecting my thoughts and figuring out where I want to be at."
Sawchuk is looking for a program where he can come in and compete right away with two years of eligibility remaining. After a 2023 season where he led the Sooners in rushing and rushing touchdowns, he had a slower 2024 and saw the Sooners bring in other options in the room this spring.
"I just want a place to compete at. I want to compete on the team; I want to compete against other schools. Play other schools, play top schools and have opportunity to go out there and grow. Be around coaches that are going to develop me and give me a chance to grow and become a better player," Sawchuk said.
Florida State's resume of producing running backs in recent memory has also sparked the interest from Sawchuk.
"They've produced running backs before and they're good at it. So the opportunity is definitely there for a running back to succeed. I've run all sorts of run schemes in my career. I love inside zone and they specialize in inside zone. They've done it. They've put it on paper and stats. It's just a matter of finding a running back that can do that as well," he said.
As of the time of this article, Sawchuk still plans to see West Virginia prior to making a decision.
