All Sooners

Former Oklahoma QB Among 2024 Heisman Trophy Finalists

In his first season with Oregon, former Sooners QB Dillon Gabriel has led his undefeated Ducks team to the Big Ten championship and a College Football Playoff berth.

John E. Hoover

Former Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel
Former Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
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For the second time in three years, a former Oklahoma quarterback is headed to New York City.

Dillon Gabriel, who powered the Sooners’ offense in 2022 and 2023, is among four finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy.

After two standout seasons in Norman, Gabriel has blossomed at Oregon.

Gabriel guided the Ducks to a 13-0 record and a Big Ten championship in their first year in their new conference.

Gabriel is eighth nationally in passing yards (3,558), 10th in passing yards per game (273.7), and 13th in points responsible for per game (16.2). Gabriel was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

As a passer, Gabriel ranks seventh in the nation in passer efficiency rating (166.7) and is second in completion percentage (.732). He’s also eighth in passing touchdowns (28).

In 2022, Caleb Williams transferred from Oklahoma to USC and won the Heisman Trophy.

Gabriel, however, is considered a long shot to win this year’s award as college football’s most outstanding player. 

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty leads the nation with an eye-popping 192.1 rushing yards per game and is No. 1 with 2,497 rushing yards. He’s also tied for the national lead with 29 rushing touchdowns as he’s powered the Broncos to the Mountain West championship and a CFP berth. Jeanty is the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year.

Colorado’s all-everything Travis Hunter is arguably the greatest two-way player in college football history as a cornerback and wide receiver. Hunter ranks sixth in the nation in receiving yards (1,152) and ranks second in receiving touchdowns. He also has four interceptions on defense (tied for 17th nationally) and leads all of college football — by far — with 1,443 snaps on offense, defense and special teams. Hunter is the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Miami’s Cam Ward was an early frontrunner for this year’s Heisman but has simmered recently. Ward ranks No. 2 in the nation in passing yards per game (343.6) and leads the nation with 36 touchdown throws (against just seven interceptions) and is No. 2 in passer efficiency rating (171.1). He was named ACC Player of the Year.

The Heisman is decided by a vote of 870 media members, the 57 living Heisman winners and one fan vote. 

Gabriel is the fifth Oklahoma quarterback or former OU QB to appear as a Heisman finalist since 2017, joining winners Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Williams, and 2019 finalist Jalen Hurts.

Gabriel, from Mililani, HI, started in 2019 and 2020 at UCF and started three games in 2021 before suffering a broken collarbone. He transferred to Oklahoma in 2022 to be reunited with former UCF offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

In two seasons in Norman, Gabriel started 24 games and posted impressive seasons: a .627 completion percentage with 3,164 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2022, and a .693 completion percentage with 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2023.

He intended to leave OU for the NFL Draft last December, but wasn’t pleased with his draft grade projection and decided to play one more year in college. Gabriel could have returned to OU, but coach Brent Venables told him the job would be an open competition with 5-star recruit Jackson Arnold. Gabriel instead entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, allowing Arnold to take over the starting role as a sophomore. Gabriel chose Oregon over a host of suitors for the Ducks’ stacked roster and to make it easier for his family to attend games coming to the mainland from Hawaii.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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