Dillon Gabriel has a tall task ahead of him. After transferring to Oregon this offseason, Gabriel will have to replace former Ducks quarterback Bo Nix. On Monday, On3’s Andy Staples and Clark Brooks revealed their expectations for the veteran QB in the 2024 campaign.
“I don’t there’s gonna be much of a difference at all,” Brooks said of the comparison between Gabriel and Nix. “This is a guy who is still a point guard quarterback, tremendous year over year improvement against pressure.
“There’s no reason in my mind that Dillon Gabriel cannot hit the ground running for [Oregon offensive coordinator] Will Stein… I’m not necessarily a preseason bet placer but, if I were so inclined, he would be my Heisman bet in 2024.”
Gabriel has shown the ability to put up Heisman numbers. Last season at Oklahoma, Gabriel tallied 266 completions, 3,660 passing yards and 30 touchdowns compared to only six interceptions. Additionally, Gabriel recorded 373 yards and 12 scores in the ground game.
For his efforts, Gabriel was a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, a Manning Award finalist and a Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 10 Finalist. Moreover, Gabriel was a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award.
What are Dillon Gabriel’s weaknesses?
Despite Gabriel’s obvious abilities, Brooks claims he is still far from perfect.
“The NFL scouts might not like him because he’s a small guy,” Brooks said. “He’s under six feet tall. He’s only about 200 pounds. He’s kind of he’s stocky. You can really attack his mechanics in the sense that it takes an extra beat for stuff to come out at times.
“He looks a little too comfortable in the pocket at times. Of course, when you’re batting the ball off your back foot some mechanical things can go awry, especially when you see somebody late. Do you have that arm strength and arm talent to drive the ball downfield and still hit people? I’m not so sure.”
Gabriel has massive shoes to fill. Last season, Nix led Oregon to a 12-2 record and a 12-1 mark in conference play, the program’s best under head coach Dan Lanning. If the Ducks had defeated Washington in the Pac-12 Championship, they likely would have advanced to the College Football Playoff.
Staples believes Oregon will have an excellent chance of reaching the CFP in the 2024 campaign with Gabriel behind center.
“They’re going to see good defenses, and he’s probably going to put up decent numbers against good defenses,” Staples said. “They’re probably going to be in the mix for the 12-team playoff. So, all of the ingredients seem to be in place for a Heisman candidacy for Dillon Gabriel.”
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