 Sawyer accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Florida State University, where he played for the Florida State Seminoles football team from 1990 to 1993.He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American at defensive back as a senior in 1993, and was a member of the Seminoles' team that defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 18–16 in the Orange Bowl to win the Bowl Coalition national championship.The Cincinnati Bengals selected Sawyer in the fourth round (104th pick overall) of the 1994 NFL Draft, and he played for the Bengals from to .