In 2023, Bo Nix set NCAA records for career starts (61) and single-season completion rate (77.4%) with the Oregon Ducks. Just one season later, Dillon Gabriel aims to break even more while challenging for a national championship. According to WR Tez Johnson, the entire program believes their star QB can take them all the way.
Dillon Gabriel Hype Train Continues Ahead of Rose Bowl
After breaking state records as a high school QB in Hawaii, Gabriel is mere games away from doing the same on the collegiate stage:
- Career passing yards: 18,423, second (Houston QB Case Keenum, 19,217)
- Career passing TDs: 153, second (Keenum, 155)
- Seasons with 3,000+ passing yards: five, most
- Career total TDs: 187, most
Still not impressed? Gabriel also finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting — behind Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty — and has led the Ducks to the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
Gabriel’s WR1, Johnson, has benefitted from the success, nearly doubling the next closest Oregon pass catcher with 78 receptions, 866 yards, and 10 TDs.
During his Rose Bowl press conference, Johnson said he first came across Gabriel while he was at Troy, and the QB was at UCF.
“I knew him when he was at UCF, and I watched him a little bit because one of my coaches from Troy went to UCF, Coach [Chip] Lindsey and [Brian] Blackmon. So I followed him up a little bit … and did some little research. And when I seen him coming to Oregon, I knew right then and there I need to get with him and get on that field. He’s got some stuff to him that nobody has seen before.”
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That’s quite high praise, especially considering Johnson caught passes from Nix last year, who was selected 12th overall by the Denver Broncos and has enjoyed a stellar rookie season. But Johnson doesn’t believe it’s hyperbole.
“When he was at Oklahoma playing against Texas in big games, like that guy can pull it off. You don’t see too many QBs in big games pull it off like that unless you’re Patrick Mahomes or something like that, you know what I mean?
“So, he’s a QB you want on your team. His willingness to get better and be the best. He’s the best QB in the entire nation. Like, I don’t know if anybody else agree, but this team knows he’s the best QB that’s in this playoffs, period. I don’t see no other QB out here doing the things he do.”
With a rematch with the highly anticipated rematch with the Ohio State Buckeyes right around the corner, Johnson detailed just how his connection with Gabriel has flourished.
“Me and Dillon was on the field throwing, and the stuff we been throwing, how frustrated we was in the offseason, because I demand excellence from him, and you could tell he was demanding it from me. And us demanding for each other created something, and it’s like, ‘OK, this guy got something.’
“And I think he knew [my] willingness to get better as a receiver and how I knew exactly what ball he can throw, and he was hesitant sometimes in the offseason. I’m like, ‘If you just throw it, trust me, you going to make the play.’
Gabriel has done just that. For a glimpse of their potential, just turn on the Big Ten championship tape against the Penn State Nittany Lions when Johnson posted an eye-popping 11-181-1 receiving line.
With Gabriel under center and Johnson as his go-to target, the Ducks aren’t just chasing a title — they’re the favorite to hoist the trophy and cement their legacy in college football history.
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