On Saturday, Oregon found their replacement for Bo Nix next season in Oklahoma redshirt senior transfer Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel played the first three seasons of his career at UCF before transferring to Oklahoma, where he has played the past two seasons. For his career, Gabriel has thrown for 14,865 yards, 125 touchdown, and 26 interceptions on a 63.1% completion percentage and a 159.8 passer rating. He’s also been a decent runner during his career, rushing for 1,060 yards and 26 touchdowns for a modest 3.0 yards per carry average.
In 2023, Gabriel had his best season ever: 3,660 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions on a 69.3% completion percentage and a 172.0 passer rating. He also had 373 rushing yards for 12 touchdowns on a 4.0 yards per carry average.
Out of high school, Gabriel committed to UCF as a 3-star dual threat quarterback out of Mililani, Hawaii. He had a 5.7 Rivals rating, making him a high-end 3-star. He originally was committed to Army but flipped to UCF. He also is listed as holding offers from Georgia and USC, taking official visits to both schools. Looking back on it, the talent was already being made manifest in high school. It’s just that in college, especially these past couple of seasons, he’s really taken his game to the next level.
As far as what the Ducks are getting in Gabriel, it needs to first be established that he has one year of eligibility remaining, so he’s a one-year rental for them. The Ducks should be thrilled to have him while also realizing that he can’t be their quarterback for the long-term future of their program. That said, given how much he has improved over the course of his career, the Ducks should be feeling confident that they’ll be getting the best of Dillon Gabriel and that’s exciting.
After watching some tape on Gabriel, a few things stand out:
#1. He’s got a quick release: Gabriel does a terrific job of getting the ball out of his hands for deep, midrange, and short throws. He’s also left handed, which I think gives him a bit of an advantage since defenses are more accustomed to seeing right handed quarterbacks. He’s very accurate and just as a pure passing quarterback is fantastic.
#2. His decision making is excellent: Not only does he not turn the ball over very often, but Gabriel is also really good at making the right checks and reads. If there’s a man open down field, odds are good he’s gonna find him for a big gain. If it’s better to make more of a midrange throw to a tight end, he’ll make that throw. If it’s best to dump it off for a short gain, he’ll do that. And then he also knows when to run it himself. He’s got all the tools, but then when you combine that with savvy decision making in the pocket, you got something that is very difficult to stop.
#3. He is dangerous in the red zone: Gabriel is dangerous in the red zone because you gotta respect his ability to run and yet at the same time, he can throw darts for easy touchdowns. At 6’0”, 200 pounds he runs extremely well and is a difficult guy to contain and keep in the pocket. He rarely makes a mistake, so it’s not like you can count on him to maybe make an ill-advised throw or force a play that isn’t there. If he’s in the red zone, you know odds are good he’s going to get his team seven points.
Overall: Dillon Gabriel is an excellent pick up for the Ducks. They needed someone to be their field general for next season with Bo Nix expected to leave for the NFL Draft. He can move, he can throw with accuracy, and he is really good at making the right decisions. There’s a reason he was one of the top quarterbacks in the transfer market. It’ll be fun to see what he brings to the Ducks and what kind of season he has in his final year of college football.
