Jeff Lebby quickly removed all doubt. Dillon Gabriel is Oklahoma’s starting quarterback.
Once Caleb Williams entered the transfer portal and ended up on USC’s roster, Gabriel was instantly the most experienced quarterback in the OU camp.
“We got one guy on our roster that's thrown a college football pass,” OU's new offensive coordinator and QB coach said. “Obviously, he’s thrown a bunch of ‘em; he’s thrown ‘em really, really well.”
But that doesn’t mean this year’s spring practice will be easy for Gabriel.
A two-year starter at Central Florida before he broke his collarbone three games into his junior year, Gabriel is learning a new home, a new school, a new football team, a new receiver corps and a new(ish) playbook.
But at least there’s some familiarity there, thanks to his getting to work previously with Lebby.
Gabriel driving Lebby’s UCF offense as a true freshman in 2019 should provide enough comfort level for both parties as they navigate their way around the expectations of Oklahoma football.
Gabriel started the final 12 games for the Knights that season and earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference accolades. UCF ranked second in the nation at 540.5 yards per game and was fifth in FBS in scoring at 43.4 points per game. Gabriel threw for 3,653 yards as a true freshman with 29 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, and was named the Gasparilla Bowl MVP.
Lebby went on to Ole Miss in 2020 and 2021, and Gabriel became an even better quarterback as he grew into the position. In ’20, he was a semifinalist for the Davey Brien Quarterback Award and the Maxwell Trophy as national player of the year, throwing for 3,739 yards (which ranked second nationally) and 32 touchdowns (fourth in the country). His ’21 season was cut short by injury, but he still threw for 814 yards and nine TDs in less than three games.
“He's got that much more experience since I left him back two years ago,” Lebby said. “His production was really good in '20. Obviously he had the collarbone last year, but the things that I saw were him being able to extend and create a little more. When he was a young guy, he wanted to be in the pocket. He wanted to throw from the pocket. That's what he knew best, so he was getting the ball out of his hand. I think what you saw from him his true sophom*ore year is you saw him create a little more. You saw him extend a little more. Those are the things that we're gonna need.”
At the moment, Gabriel’s experience and leadership are his greatest attributes. Spring practice will be huge, and so will the voluntary summer workouts as he continued to build rapport with the OU receiver corps.
2022 Spring Previews
- March 1: Offensive Line
- March 2: Defensive Tackle
- March 3: Defensive End
- March 4: Tight End
- March 5: Linebacker
- March 6: Running Back
- March 7: Safety
- March 8: Cornerback
- March 9: Wide Receiver
- March 10: Special Teams
- March 11: Quarterback
“It’s Dillon being able to be out there with those guys, coach them every single day, and again, understanding the expectation of how we're gonna operate once we get going in spring ball,” Lebby said. “It's invaluable.”
Behind Gabriel, the OU quarterback depth chart gets interesting.
Will true freshman Nick Evers — the immediate future for the program — be able to come in and absorb enough to win the backup job?
Evers was committed to Florida out of Flower Mound, TX, but he decommitted when Dan Mullen was fired and rekindled the recruiting relationship he had with Lebby. It took Lebby all of about five seconds to offer Evers.
“That was actually my first stop on the road,” Lebby said. “Wednesday I get here, do compliance paperwork, HR paperwork, I get in the car and I drive straight to Flower Mound. Sat in the house with them that evening. They came up on an official and we were able to get it done.”
Evers is athletic but doesn’t necessarily project as a classic dual-threat QB in college. Some recruiting media services rated him as a pocket passer while others evaluated him as a dual-threat. Either way, 247 Sports tabbed Evers as the No. 24 player in Texas after he threw for almost 5,000 yards and 44 touchdown passes with another 18 TDs on the ground.
Evers’ early enrollment this semester and his participation in spring practice will be huge for his early development.
“Man, this guy's going to be a special player,” Lebby said. “He's got a special skill set. He’s really good between the ears. And he cares. He's passionate about being a good football player. He’s passionate about being a good person. He's about the right things. So, excited as heck about having the opportunity to coach him and walk with him as he gets to go where he’s going to go.”
Could the backup job go once again to walk-on Ralph Rucker? He was third-team last year behind Spencer Rattler and Williams after what Lincoln Riley called an extremely impressive training camp.
Or could it go to Micah Bowens, the third-year player and former Penn State transfer who starred at high school football factory Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas? Bowens was a late-game star in the Red/White Game last year, completing 4-of-5 passes for 26 yards and rushing three times for 25 yards. He delivered a couple of dynamic plays on a late scoring drive and showed he has the ability to play quarterback on a high level. Learning a new playbook for the third straight year could be a hindrance, but Riley spoke highly of Bowens’ ability to adapt.
Ben Harris, a freshman walk-on last year from Midwest City’s powerhouse Carl Albert program, engineered four straight state championships in high school, is popular with his teammates and has a good mix of moxie, toughness, smarts, arm talent and athletic ability. He’ll do what he can to stay in the conversation.
Transition — especially now — is a natural part of the college football process, but Oklahoma’s roster is going through the wash. When spring practice opens on March 22, Brent Venables and his coaching staff will spend a month assessing and sussing out the players they think can help the Sooners return to championship form in 2022.
Watching two 5-star quarterbacks and former big-time starters transfer away no doubt left a wound.
But Lebby likes where the program is now, and likes even more where it’s headed.
“We’re at a place that’s a little different than a lot of others,” Lebby said. “When it comes down to it, we’re going to be able to continue to build some stability in our room. I think guys will feel that and we’ll be in a really good place building that room in the future.”
