Brent Venables, unprompted, details reasons for Dillon Gabriel's departure

NORMAN — Brent Venables wanted to set the record straight.

The OU coach was fired up on Tuesday following Saturday's 25-15 loss to Tennessee, as 19-minute opening statement turning into a 53-minute press conference — his longest midweek availability in some time. With questions surrounding the Sooners' poor offensive performance, which included benching starter Jackson Arnold in favor of true freshman Michael Hawkins, Venables wasn't shy about airing out his frustrations with the team's performance in their SEC opener.

With the fallout over the loss has included some buzz about Dillon Gabriel's departure from the team last season. Gabriel, now at Oregon, was the starter for two seasons with the Sooners before opting out of the bowl game to enter the transfer portal. Venables, unprompted, wanted to set the record straight about Gabriel's departure.

Specifically, he wanted to dispel the notion that the Sooners ran Gabriel out of the program.

"There was something brought to my attention (about) a story that was written — just not that it really matters, but at the same time, at the end of the year, (I) had a meeting after a few weeks at the end of the season, where Dillan Gabriel came to visit with me," Venables said. "He wanted to have a meeting and let me know that he wasn't going to play in the bowl game. And so I had already gotten wind and he knew some other guys were opting out on the offensive line and things like that, and I did not know that at that time that he wasn't going to go to the NFL.

"When we had a great conversation with him, (he was) disappointed that he wasn't going to go play in the bowl game, and the circumstances of (former OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby) leaving, and thought he wanted to get closer to home to Hawaii. And I was like, I didn't know I had to fight this fight, I didn't realize that you were even considering coming back, and he says, 'Yeah, but I just really want to get closer to home.'

Any questions or speculation about Gabriel's departure have come as the result of OU's poor offense to start the season. Through four weeks, the Sooners rank 101st nationally in rushing offense, 11th in passing offense and 119th in total offense. Since scoring 51 points in the season opener against Temple, the Sooners have scored 65 points over the last three weeks, averaging under 22 points per game against a slate that included Houston and Tennessee.

Arnold, who spent last season as Gabriel's backup, was benched against Tennessee following his third first-half turnover. The Sooners inserted Michael Hawkins, who led the team on two scoring drives in the fourth quarter. On Monday, Venables announced that the true freshman would make his first career start this weekend at Auburn.

Gabriel, a Hawaii native, transferred to Oklahoma prior to the 2022 season, starting 24 games for the Sooners while posting over 7,500 total yards, 72 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 66% of his passes. Gabriel was eligible to either enter the NFL draft or return for his sixth and final season of collegiate eligibility but opted to head to Oregon, officially opening the door for Arnold — and now Hawkins — to become Oklahoma's next starting quarterback.

For Venables, it was an amicable exit based on Gabriel's plan to be closer to home.

"We hugged and shook hands," Venables said. "And, you know, he was a little emotional, and I was, but it was all really good and positive. Make a guy stay, you know (the) guy's trying to find the next thing you know, the next chapter for him. I'm sure there was probably some disappointment, you know, that he wasn't more highly thought of in the NFL. Had an amazing year. He was a fantastic quarterback.

"But nobody (was) running nobody off or things like that. So always the veterans are good. You know, I think always said that the experienced player can do a little more than sometimes the young guys. But it's neither here nor there. But I did want to clear that up."