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Former UCF QB Dillon Gabriel Flipping Transfer from UCLA to Oklahoma

Gabriel played under current Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby in 2019.

John E. Hoover

Former UCF QB Dillon Gabriel Flipping Transfer from UCLA to Oklahoma
Former UCF QB Dillon Gabriel Flipping Transfer from UCLA to Oklahoma /

Before Caleb Williams’ entrance into the transfer portal is even official, Oklahoma might have found its quarterback for 2022 — and it would appear that new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby has his man. Again.

Dillon Gabriel, a prolific three-year starter at Central Florida, announced on Twitter that he’ll be coming to Oklahoma.

Gabriel, a left-handeder from Mililani, HI, will presumably finish his college career at OU, where he’ll be reunited with Lebby, the former UCF offensive coordinator who's now at Oklahoma.

In his one season at UCF as the starter under Lebby and former Sooner OC and current Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, Gabriel completed 236-of-398 passes (59.3 percent) for 3,653 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

That was as a freshman in 2019, when he replaced injured starter Mackenzie Milton.

As a 10-game starter in 2020, the 6-foot, 200-pound Gabriel completed 248-of-413 passes (60.0 percent) for 3,570 yards with 32 TDs and just four picks.

Last year, in just three games, Gabriel completed 68.6 percent of his throws for 818 yards with nine TDs and three INTs. He suffered a broken collarbone and missed the Knights’ last eight games.

Gabriel isn’t a classic dual-threat QB, but he’s considered a mobile threat: In 26 career games at UCF, he’s carried the football 167 times for 372 yards (including 24 for 125 last season, a 5.2-yard average) and scored eight touchdowns.

MORE: Gabriel's career college stats

Gabriel announced last month that he was transferring to UCLA, but as a graduate transfer, that was not a hindrance to another relocation. He entered the transfer portal on Nov. 27, and on Dec. 16 said he would continue his career in Westwood.

Instead, he’s flipped to Oklahoma, where he’ll be reunited with one of college football’s hottest young quarterback coaches and play callers.

Williams announced earlier Monday that he would be entering the transfer portal. Although Williams didn’t close the book on returning to OU, it would be easy to speculate that Williams doesn’t intend on being a Sooner moving forward.

Williams’ father, Carl Williams, told Yahoo! Sports’ Pete Thamel that his son’s main goal was to get to the NFL and wants to play in a college program that would best facilitate that. 

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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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