Gabriel embracing OU opportunity

A lot of Oklahoma fans are going to remember Jan. 3 and for a variety of reasons. It was that afternoon when former quarterback Caleb Williams officially entered the transfer portal.

He left the door open to a return to Norman, but reading between the lines, you could feel his time as a Sooner had come to an end.

There wasn’t any time to panic or be distressed because within hours, head coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby had their guy.

Former Central Florida quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who was committed to UCLA the morning of Jan. 3, was a Sooner by night’s end.

It can all change just like that.

“Um, honestly, I tried to keep other peoples' situations out of it,” Gabriel told The Podcast on the Prairie, hosted by OU tight end Brayden Willis and former H-Back Jeremiah Hall. “I just felt like it was an open opportunity. That's what I was told. Once I heard that, I ran with it.

“But definitely on the day of me committing, I mean, just on my side, I think a lot of people know on Caleb's side, but on my side, a lot was going on. I was starting school at UCLA at the time. Didn't end up going to class because in the NCAA… and then once obviously Caleb announced, called Coach Leb and just an open opportunity. It was a chance to play with a really good team. This school's got a lot of history with quarterbacks, but also just some great players.”

Had Gabriel attended that first day of classes at UCLA, then he wouldn’t have been eligible to transfer to OU. Gabriel stayed patient, and Venables and Lebby tried to keep him posted on everything that was going on.

Following OU’s win against Oregon in the Alamo Bowl, Williams gave the impression nothing was set for 2022. The coaches said last week a few days later, they understood Williams was going to hit the portal.

Whether he would return was another issue, but the coaches had to act like Williams wasn’t going to come back. And that meant jumping quickly for Lebby to re-establish the connection with Gabriel once again.

No difficulty doing that.

“Took a couple visits. I visited Ole Miss, where Coach Lebby was. Visited UCLA and then obviously Coach Lebby came here,” Gabriel said. “Kinda made my decision a little easier, not knowing the full situation yet. I committed to UCLA. Was letting it ride out, just kinda heard rumors and some stuff.

“Coach Lebby ended up giving me a call and was saying how (Caleb) was gonna be entering the portal, and just a bunch of changing in this whole time. A spot opened up and I ran with it. I truly believe in Coach BV, got to talk to him. Got to talk to Coach Leb and just felt like it was a no-brainer.”

A no-brainer regardless of what Williams did. As Gabriel said in his social media commitment message, ‘they say life’s a gamble like rolling the dice’ and that’s what Gabriel was doing.

“I think just the whole opportunity in general,” Gabriel said. “A lot comes with it, but I'm also the man for the job and excited for it. I know there's a lot of guys around me, too, just being able to be at a different program and then coming to this one, there's a lot of great things that come with this program too that a lot of people don't get to see.”

Since then, it has been a whirlwind month. He’s home in Norman, winning over the locker room, recovering from the broken collarbone and ready for 2022.

Willis mentioned how much it meant to him and some of the other players that Gabriel was taking them out to dinner to get to know them better.

That’s who Gabriel is, said Gabriel.

“It's a bit easy for me because I ain't gotta fake it,” Gabriel said. “I continue to work and grind every day because that's what the quarterback does. Set the standard, but also bring the guys around him to do the same thing.

“With that, it's just continuing to be cohesive. It is a new staff, but also it's a new team. It's a new squad. Just getting it all together, you know how it is every single year, but that's really the big thing and the faster we click, the more growth that can be made.”

Gabriel played right out of the gate, his freshman season at UCF when Lebby was still there. Gabriel threw for more than 8,000 yards at UCF with 70 touchdowns and 14 interceptions with eight rushing scores as well.

But the Lebby that Gabriel remembers from the recruiting trail and the first year at UCF is a much different one now calling the offensive shots in Norman.

And that’s going to be a great thing.

“But man, dude’s grown,” Gabriel said. “Now it’s on a whole other level, in a really good way. Shoot, I’m glad to be back with Leb. Obviously love being coached by him. Pushed me to be a lot better than I play. Gets me to play at a higher level. That’s all I can ask for.”

Everybody is moving on. Venables, Lebby and Gabriel are with OU. Williams and former coach Lincoln Riley are entrenched at USC. Time to look forward, and that’s what Gabriel is doing.

He’s still getting ingrained with what OU culture is all about, but he knows what the expectations are. That’s no problem. Like everything else, Gabriel is ready to fully embrace it all.

“The biggest thing is, obviously, not looking past, is the conference championship and taking care of business on that side of things,” Gabriel said. “Obviously, being at this caliber of school, that national championship is something that we always chase.

“Right when I walked in, it was very clear what the goals were. And being around guys like that, shoot, we all make ourselves better, even in the workouts, the type of leadership we’ve got in the building, man, it’s crazy to see. I’m just blessed to be here. Grateful. And shoot, we’re going to get to work.”