The Oregon Ducks continue to stay red-hot in the transfer portal and at securing the fate of the sport’s most important position: quarterback. News broke on Saturday that former Oklahoma and UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel was set to make the trek to Eugene for his final season of college football.
This move not only secures Oregon’s fate at the position following Bo Nix’s exhaustion of his eligibility, it also makes the Ducks real contenders in the Big Ten in 2024.
Dillon Gabriel to Transfer to Oregon
Once upon a time, the Ducks wooed a wiley veteran from the unfriendly confines of SEC to help guide their program to new heights. They’re doing so again, metaphorically, as the Sooners are set to be an SEC program next year and Gabriel has been around the block for five seasons in college.
Gabriel, who will be allowed a COVID year of extra eligibility, will embark on his sixth season as a starting college football quarterback and look to etch his name further into the all-time record books.
It should be noted that Nix himself just took Gabriel’s spot on the all-time career passing yards leaders during the Pac-12 Championship. Nix moved to seventh place all-time, moving Gabriel down to eighth. But Gabriel has one season left to inch closer to the throne.
Save for the COVID-shortened season of 2021, Gabriel has never thrown for fewer than 3,000 yards in a season as the starter. Doubling down there, he’s also thrown at least 25 touchdowns in every full season as a starter.
Tripling down with his efficiency, Gbariel has also limited his interceptions to fewer than seven picks a season. Considering he’s averaged 390.5 pass attempts a season in that span, his ball placement, decision-making, and accuracy need little help in describing.
The bottom line for Gabriel transferring to Oregon is this: He’s a winner and elevator of talent around him. He’ll slide right into the quarterback situation and continue to push his team forward, no matter where that team resides.
A documented troublemaker for defenses, Gabriel’s arm talent is elite. Few quarterbacks in the past decade have been able to display the continued accuracy he has downfield, specifically outside the numbers, and he’s been prone to giving defenses headaches with his left-handed release and dual-threat ability for years.
Dillon Gabriel Career Player Profile
- Hometown:
- Height: 6’0″
- Weight: 200
- Career Passing Yards: 14,865
- Career Passing TDs: 125
- Career Rushing Yards: 1,060
- Career Rushing TDs: 26