Dillon Gabriel moved on from Oklahoma after two seasons this offseason, opting to spend his final year of college eligibility playing for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks.
Gabriel committed to Oklahoma less than a month after Brent Venables was named head coach after former coach Lincoln Riley and QB1 Caleb Williams left OU to team up at USC. Gabriel was committed to UCLA before the change and was the Sooners’ main quarterback since Venables has been in Norman.
Now that the two have parted ways, Venables explained what the Ducks will be getting in the sixth-year veteran quarterback after getting to coach Gabriel for two seasons.
“Ultimately, [Oregon is getting] consummate consistency,” Venables said during the 2024 SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, FL. “He’s hungry, he’s driven. He’s willing to put the work in. He improves from whatever areas, he attacks his weaknesses and plays within his strengths and he’s a great teammate.”
Gabriel has been a journeyman throughout his collegiate career. Starting out at UCF, he spent three seasons in Orlando before taking on a new challenge at Oklahoma over the last two years. Over the course of his career, Gabriel has 14,865 yards, 125 touchdowns, 26 interceptions, a 63.1 percent completion percentage, 1,060 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns.
During his final season at Oklahoma in 2023, he had arguably the best season of his career yet. He finished with 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 69.3 percent completion percentage, 373 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.
Since joining the Ducks’ squad this offseason, Gabriel has been tasked with learning a completely new offense under Lanning at Oregon. Gabriel called Lanning’s coaching style “innovative” and “refreshing.”
Gabriel revealed that Lanning is active in practices whether it’s running, lifting — “He’s sweating at practice, he’s in it,” Gabriel said. “I feel like that is an empowering feeling knowing that your coach is being a part of what you’re doing, not having levels of a hierarchy.”
As a member of the Class of 2019, Gabriel was a three-star recruit out of Mililani (Hawaii) High School before beginning his college career, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 7 overall prospect in the state, the No. 44 quarterback in the class and the No. 680 overall prospect in the class.
Oregon kicks off its 2024 college football season against Idaho on Saturday, Aug. 31 before beginning Big Ten Conference play against UCLA on Sept. 28.
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