Oklahoma Camp Questions: Quarterback

Dillon Gabriel needs to clean up some things, Jackson Arnold needs to play, and the coaching staff needs to develop a real Plan C.

Alonzo Adams/For The Oklahoman

AllSooners breaks down the most important questions for each position going into 2023 training camp. Today: quarterback:

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Q: Has Dillon Gabriel cleaned up his accuracy issues?

A: We’ll see. The only way to know that for sure is to put him in third-and-8 in the fourth quarter of a tie game and see how he performs.

But Gabriel has had a full season and two spring practices plus two offseasons to refine his mechanics. He’s had two years to watch his own videos and self-correct. Jeff Lebby has had two years to coach him up.

As Robert Griffin III pointed out during a broadcast, Gabriel was missing throws because his base was occasionally off. His feet were too wide as he threw, or they weren’t set, or he was just hurrying through the mechanics of his release. Repetition, time on task and trust — in the pass protection, in his receivers being open, in the play call and in himself — are the only things that can fix that, and we won’t know if he’s ironed those things out until it’s gameday and things get tight.

Gabriel has the arm talent and the innate knowledge of the offense and the right attitude to win football games. But does he have the willingness to seek out and work on his flaws — and the poise to correct them on gameday?

Time will tell.

Q: In a perfect world, how much does freshman Jackson Arnold play this season?

A: If everything goes according to plan, Gabriel will start every game — and Jackson Arnold will finish every game.

The bottom line is Oklahoma has the schedule to compete for a Big 12 championship in 2023, but Lebby and Brent Venables need to keep an eye on 2024 as well. That means Arnold shouldn’t be taking his first significant college football snaps next year in the Southeastern Conference.

Jackson Arnold :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

Arnold needs to be ready — like, really ready — when the Sooners take up residence in the SEC next year. And the best way to do that is to get him as much playing time as possible this year.

He’s a true freshman, so he’ll make plenty of mistakes. But OU coaches need to be able to live with those mistakes. They’re all learning opportunities, and he should grow from each one. His development for the future is crucial. Remember when Lebby said Arnold will soon be the face of the program? That will take much longer if he sits around or only gets mop-up duty this year.

If the Sooners can win games 31-14 and get Arnold a couple of drives in the first half and let him finish the fourth quarter instead of keeping him on the bench late into a 52-7 rout, that will speed Arnold’s development into 2024 and he’ll be more prepared for the rigors of SEC football when the time comes.

Arnold has the ability and the makeup to have success in this role in 2023. Lebby and the OU staff have to use this training camp getting him prepared to jump in with both feet when the time comes.

Q: What’s Plan C?

A: If everything goes up in flames — if Gabriel gets lost on a three-hour tour at Lake Thunderbird, and if Arnold simply isn’t ready for the big-time yet — what then?

Well, Brayden Willis isn’t around to take the wildcat QB snaps this year.

Davis Beville and Jeff Lebby :: Ryan Chapman / AllSooners.com

While the debacle in Dallas last year exposed a few things — like how quickly harebrained ideas can go bad, and how bad it can get when panic sets in on the coaching staff — the plan hasn’t changed much.

Davis Beville was the No. 2 QB throughout much of spring practice before Arnold got all the second-team snaps in the scrimmage. General Booty was fourth. That means it’s too soon to expect either to have a planned role in the offense this year.

If things get to that point, then another 6-6 season might actually become the goal.

Booty was apparently ready for action going into the Texas game before a minor medical situation sidelined him. That’s an indicator that Beville — who clearly wasn’t prepared for the spotlight the week prior when Gabriel was injured at TCU — didn’t get a ton of practice time as the starter. Another indicator was the clever-turned-desperate wildcat stuff the Sooners spent the week installing in practice — which worked OK until Lebby reinserted Beville to finish promising drives.

Give Beville a week’s worth of first-team reps and maybe he’ll be ready for his moment this time. Same goes for Booty.

But whether it’s with a limited offensive package, or a one-read install, or a slower, more deliberate tempo, the coaching staff has to take the initiative to do everything in their power to get them ready to play — and that begins next week in training camp.

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