For as wild of a journey as it was for Dillon Gabriel to become the quarterback at Oklahoma, the process ever since Jan. 3 has been incredibly smooth.
If you didn’t know any better, you’d almost say too smooth. You might start wondering why hasn’t there been a ton of difficulty or confusion? Everything continues to click on all cylinders.
Now nearly three months later since Gabriel picked OU on that Monday afternoon, it’s his show in Norman. He’s embracing it and so is everybody else.
“I mean when you become somebody that is a leader or a captain, you've got great responsibility,” wide receivers coach Cale Gundy said. “And you can't just do it four days out of the seven days of the week. I mean you have to be that guy every single day.
“And that's why I think being a captain or being a leader, I think that's very special because there's a lot of work to that. And it's something that again, you have to be that person every single day.”
Gabriel had a tremendous first two seasons at Central Florida before a broken collarbone ended his junior season last September. He hit the transfer portal at the end of the season and originally committed to UCLA.
There was just a sliver of a chance for Gabriel to become a Sooner. Everything had to work out in a certain way, and sure enough, it all did.
His first class at UCLA was Jan. 3, an online class. A couple of days before that, OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby asked Gabriel to hit pause. If then-OU quarterback Caleb Williams was going to hit the portal, OU wanted Gabriel immediately.
That’s how fast it went, too. Williams announced in the early afternoon hours he was testing the portal waters. That very same day, Gabriel switched from the Bruins to the Sooners.
Walking into the locker room could have been tough, but again, it just hasn’t.
“After he said he was going to come here, I watched some tape and just the comfort in the pocket and stuff like that,” wide receiver Marvin Mims said. “Maturity things that you can’t really teach, just maturity that comes with experience. The numbers speak for itself. Just a great guy.
“Probably one of my best friends. I’ve known him for two months. That’s just kind of the person that he is. When he first got here, we spent a lot of time and talked not just about football. Just learning about each other and stuff like that.”
There were rave reviews from coaches throughout the winter about who Gabriel was off the field, and now it’s spreading to the on-field performance.
OU began spring practice last week. Not bothered at all by the past injury, Gabriel has looked as good as advertised, even if OU receivers have joked it’s been an adjustment catching balls from a left-hander.
It’s all good.
“DG, that's my guy,” wide receiver Theo Wease said. “He's an all-around leader and just an all-around great person. He's a great example of what you want as a quarterback. He's the standard. He's the example, so I'm excited for him.”
Gabriel doesn’t have any previous connection with the receivers on campus, so it’s been building that chemistry one rep at a time with each receiver at a time.
He’s off to a great start.
“Dillon is a funny dude, first and foremost,” wide receiver Jalil Farooq said. “He's a great guy. The first time we got on the field, his arm is tremendously strong. I had to adjust myself because it came so fast. I had to adjust.”
As everybody learns the Lebby offense, Gabriel is there to help along the way. There was a reason OU made that call to Gabriel before Jan. 3. Lebby recruited Gabriel to UCF and was there for Gabriel’s freshman season before Lebby went to Ole Miss.
Reunited, and it does indeed feel that good.
“The biggest thing is he’s three years older,” Lebby said. “When I got him, he was an 18-year-old kid who was supposed to be going to prom his senior year. Instead of being on the island, he was in Orlando, Florida. Now he’s lived a ton of experience.
“So what he’s been through getting to this point, there’s great experience that he’s had that’s gotten him here, and there’s continual growth every single day. So he’s a guy that wants to be coached. He wants to get better. Good’s not good enough. He understands that. He’s been a lot of fun getting back with.”
You needed a quarterback who was super sure of himself after everything that has happened at OU the last two seasons with Spencer Rattler and Williams.
Somebody who is comfortable in his own skin. Because, if you ask Gabriel, that’s been the secret, if that’s what you want to call it.
Being able to come in and lead, it’s because he’s being himself. He’s genuine, and everybody has been able to pick up on that and embraced it.
“For the most part I’m just being me. Being me and being myself has been the strongest thing for me,” said Gabriel on Wednesday, his first public comments since coming to OU. “I am who I am every single day. From my side it’s been easy to connect with a lot of those guys. Likewise them saying the same thing about me, I’m saying the same thing about them. They welcomed me with open arms and am just super grateful to be with them.
“The biggest thing I think is obviously proving it from the start. When I first got here, proving it during winter workouts. And second, being vocal and taking charge. I think I’ve done a really good job of it but continue to do so and continue to gain trust, continuity throughout everything.”
There couldn’t have been a better first impression for Gabriel, who is fired up for what’s at OU and what’s coming next.
