On an individual note plus that of the Valor Christian Eagles as a team, Gabe Sawchuk has high expectations for the upcoming 2022 campaign.

The soon-to-be junior tailback, who also plays receiver and cornerback for the Eagles, has been enjoying the recruiting process in addition to looking ahead to the 2022 campaign.

This upcoming season will be Valor Christian's first under the leadership of Bret McGatlin, who was announced as the school's new head coach on Monday.

Last season, the Eagles advanced to the CHSAA Class 5A state title game, but were dispatched by Cherry Creek, which won its third consecutive championship.

Even as a sophomore in 2021, Sawchuk scored 12 rushing touchdowns, going for 797 yards on 153 carries.

With his older brother, Gavin, who rushed for over 2,000 yards last year as a senior, now graduated and at Oklahoma, the stage is set for Gabe to set out to achieve some lofty goals.

“My goal personally, I want to have the same amount of rushing yards as I do receiving yards, so just being able to be a versatile back," he said. "Team-wise, we’re coming in with a new coach, so I just want to help hold the team together and give (McGatlin) a chance. Hopefully we can pull through and get to the state championship game.”

Right now, Colorado, Southern Cal and Arizona State comprise the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder's offer sheet, while he said that more Pac-12 programs have been reaching out to him of late.

In the last year, he has taken unofficial visits to Notre Dame and to see his brother in Norman.

At the start of April, he was invited down to Boulder to check out one of Colorado's opening spring practices.

“I had only been to one other spring practice before and I really enjoyed CU’s," Sawchuk said. "I liked how they did things, I liked their pace, I liked the tempo they run at — it was a really good experience.”

Darian Hagan has been overseeing Sawchuk's recruitment and so far, the two have been able to build a good early relationship with one another.

Sawchuk being able to observe Hagan leading the RBs room during practice further impressed him.

“It’s been really good," Sawchuk said. "He’s a relatable guy, he’s a cool dude — I like that about him. I like the drills that he does as a running backs coach and just being able to not only run the ball but blocking in the backfield, (Colorado’s) drills are really cool.”

While he can be seen all over the field at Valor Christian, Sawchuk said that all the programs currently recruiting him see him playing tailback at the next level.

“I think one of my biggest strengths is my physicality," he said. "I don’t always like to just run around people. Sometimes I like to put my head down and just run through people. I think one of my weaknesses is (that) I could get a little quicker.

"I think I’m pretty quick, but you can always improve and I think I can get a little quicker side to side to dodge those guys, those 1-on-1 moments.”