One of the extra intriguing storylines within the buildup to the Oklahoma Sooners Cheez-It Bowl matchup with the Florida State Seminoles was how the Sooners would deal with their working again rotation with out Eric Gray.
Gray opted out, selecting to organize for the 2023 NFL draft, and Marcus Major was out, nonetheless nursing a leg harm that saved him out of motion late within the common season. That left Jovantae Barnes as the one runner with important expertise on the depth chart.
But that additionally created a chance to see what fellow true freshman working again Gavin Sawchuk dropped at the desk. The Oklahoma Sooners teaching employees took benefit of the Cheez-It Bowl stage to offer the previous two-time Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year motion. And Sawchuk was a star.
Sawchuk carried the ball 15 instances for 100 yards and caught one cross for eight yards, displaying nice quickness, agility and pace. He didn’t appear to be a participant with solely two collegiate carries on his ledger coming into the sport. He was bodily and affected person. His 15-yard landing run early within the fourth quarter helped Oklahoma take a 25-18 lead.
“He has a tremendous future,” head coach Brent Venables mentioned after the loss. “He’s made up of the right stuff. Tremendous character, great work ethic, incredibly humble, intelligent, tough. It (would have) been easy for a guy like him to kind of check it in and not get better, but he showed up every day and got better all season long. (Dillon Gabriel and DaShaun White) would attest to that. He’s been a great teammate and he was ready for his opportunity when it presented itself. Really excited for him. Some of his production tonight, outstanding. He’s going to be a lot better going into next year because of it. Kind of like Jaleel (Farooq) in our bowl game a year ago.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Sawchuk averaged 4 yards per carry after contact within the recreation. He compelled three missed tackles and had two runs of 15 yards or extra within the contest, together with the landing run.
Sawchuk and Barnes mixed for 42 carries and 208 yards dashing. Barnes continued to indicate why he turned the backup behind Eric Gray through the season with one other sturdy efficiency. In his first prolonged motion, Sawchuk was equally spectacular. With the two-headed monster at working again, the Sooners have a implausible 1-2 punch heading into 2023.
The pace that Sawchuk put on display within the Cheez-It Bowl might be an enormous weapon for the Sooners in 2023. Jeff Lebby’s going to have a good time imagining all of the methods he can use his star working backs within the future.
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