Why Dillon Gabriel is Embracing the Impossibly High Quarterback Standard at Oklahoma

The Sooners' QB has been good, but said this week he's "desperate" to be better and to continue leading and pushing his teammates to improve against TCU and beyond.

Dillon Gabriel is learning what it’s like to be the quarterback at Oklahoma.

Three statues (soon to be four) right outside the stadium hover over his every game, his every throw. They are the standard. Fair or not, it comes with the interlocking “OU” and the Crimson and Cream.

“At any program that’s winning a bunch, just got that rep of winning a bunch of games or championship caliber, it’s not something anyone’s used to,” Gabriel said Tuesday. “Nobody likes losing, I know that for a fact.”

Gabriel didn’t like it when he was the quarterback at Central Florida. He found out Saturday night he really hates it at Oklahoma.

“I’m a bad loser, for sure,” Gabriel said after the Sooners lost to Kansas State.

Playing the position itself comes with an inherent pressure. But taking snaps at Oklahoma is just different.

Troy Aikman — Troy Aikman! — became an afterthought once Jamelle Holieway took over and reimplemented the wishbone. Jason White won the Heisman but fans wanted to see Paul Thompson in the Sugar Bowl. Landry Jones nearly set the NCAA record for yards and completions but Sooner Nation couldn’t wait for the next guy.

Now those expectations fall on Gabriel, who needed better blocking from his offensive line and more precision from his receivers and maybe a third down stop or two from his defense, but still threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns against K-State. What really drew the ire of OU fans was overthrowing Drake Stoops for a touchdown, then he missing Stoops on an easy fourth-down throw.

At Oklahoma, criticism for the quarterback comes with the territory. The standard may be unrealistic, but the standard is the standard.

“You’ve just got to watch it, learn from it, be extremely critical and make sure the points of emphasis where you lacked, and then play up to par,” Gabriel said. “ … There’s a lot of season left and a lot of games left to play. Can’t let yourself dwell on it or (let it) affect you.”

Gabriel talked a lot Saturday and Tuesday about getting behind the chains on third down, about not communicating well as a unit, about self-inflicted mistakes. He also talked about missing open receivers — something he’s done far too frequently in his first four games.

“Shoot, most importantly, I want a lot of things back that I’ve gotta be better (at),” he said. “We’ll be better. Just gotta make corrections.”

Gabriel is one of just six FBS quarterbacks who have thrown at least 100 passes but haven’t been intercepted. (Last week’s opponent, Kansas State’s Adrian Martinez, also falls in that category; this week’s opponent, TCU’s Max Duggan, has thrown 61 passes without a pick and leads the nation in passer efficiency rating.)

Gabriel’s efficiency rating (175.9) ranks 12th nationally. He ranks 28th in the nation in passing yards (1,089) and he’s tied for 12th with 11 touchdown passes. His completion percentage of .667 ranks 40th, although among passers with 100 attempts, he’s 28th.

Those numbers are good. But Gabriel is learning that at Oklahoma, they need to be better.

“Shoot, I take it as a huge responsibility on my end,” he said. “I know I touch the ball every single play. A lot of guys are looking at me and relying on me, so I want to be that rock, want to be that person they can look to and most importantly believe in. I’m big on that. Not just saying that, I’m about that.”

Change is coming, Gabriel said. Maybe it starts this week in Fort Worth, but hitting open receivers, converting third downs, cashing in red zone opportunities — it’s all going to be better.

“I’m going to continue to be myself,” he said. “But personally, I’m not a good loser of any sort. I hate losing, point blank. I’m going to be desperate. I’m going to be straining to find ways to be better on my end. And on the way, I’m going to be pushing guys — because I know they’ll do the same.”