Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby Gives Update on Dillon Gabriel, Sooners' QB Picture

With starter Dillon Gabriel in concussion protocol, attention turns to backup Davis Beville and maybe someone else as the Sooners prepare to face Texas.

John E. Hoover | Oct 3, 2022

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Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN — Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said Monday he didn’t have “anything new” on the status of starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

Lebby didn’t have much insight on a lot of the other maladies that struck down the Sooners in a 55-24 loss at TCU on Saturday.

“Gotta continue to get better every single day,” Lebby said, “just understanding as we’re getting into the meat of this thing, just what we have to do every single day to prepare ourselves to give ourselves to play well and go win on Saturdays.”

Lebby left it to head coach Brent Venables to update the public on Gabriel’s status in concussion protocol in his weekly press conference Tuesday.

But he did offer an assessment of Pittsburgh transfer and OU backup Davis Beville, who will apparently make his first career start on Saturday in the Cotton Bowl against the Texas Longhorns.

“Regardless of who’s playing, man, our expectation is to play well and play cleaner and play better,” Lebby said.

Beville went 7-of-15 for 50 yards and took three sacks against TCU. He nearly had a hero moment last year in the Peach Bowl against Michigan State, but threw a late pick-six instead.

Lebby said although Beville’s experience is limited, it still counts as experience. That’s something the other backups — junior college transfer General Booty and true freshman Nick Evers — don’t have.

“Being able to pull from some of the things he’s gone through that’s gotten him to this point,” Lebby said, “that’s playing in some big games prior to this.

“With General, he’s done a good job. Obviously with both of those guys showing up at the same time, it’s been a crash course for them from a football standpoint, just knowledge and how we get it done.

“And then Nick’s done a good job, too. He’s a guy that’s gotten better every single week, and (coaches are) proud of his development as well. So we’ll operate as we need to.”

Published Oct 3, 2022

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.