Why Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel, Jeff Lebby Are Where They're Meant to Be as They Ponder Their UCF Days

The Sooners' quarterback and offensive coordinator were given a chance at Central Florida, and now they'll face the Knights in Norman for a Big 12 game this Saturday.

NORMAN — In 2018, Dillon Gabriel just wanted a shot at playing quarterback somewhere, while Jeff Lebby just wanted back in the game.

Central Florida was where they met, bonded and forged a lifelong relationship.

Now Oklahoma’s senior quarterback and offensive coordinator are preparing to play a game against their old program — against the school that gave them a chance.

No. 6-ranked OU (6-0) comes off an open date this week when the Sooners host UCF (3-3) at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“Those two years there were incredible,” Lebby said after OU beat Texas on Oct. 7. “It’s where Dillon and I started.”

Dillon Gabriel, Jeff Lebby :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

“I think it’s interesting how college football brings it all full circle,” Gabriel said Monday night after practice. “I’m excited for it.”

Lebby was working his way back into the major college coaching scene after something of an exile following his exit from Baylor, where the program had cleaned house and separated itself from the Art Briles era in the fallout from one of the worst scandals in college sports history.

But for Lebby, it took more than just applying for another job. Briles is his father in law, so Lebby carried a greater burden than most on Briles’ staff when he left in 2016.

He resurfaced for the 2017 season at Southeastern University in Florida, an NAIA program, then was hired in 2018 by former Sooner quarterback and offensive coordinator Josh Heupel when Heupel was hired to replace Scott Frost at UCF.

“Having the opportunity to work for Heup,” Lebby said, “those two years were special.”

Lebby came to OU from Andrews, TX, as a 4-star offensive line prospect, but never played after suffering a back injury. Instead, he immediately began his coaching career at OU — where he worked under Heupel.

“I was his student assistant when he was a GA for those two years,” Lebby said. “When he came back full-time (in 2006), that was my last year as a student assistant.”

During his time as UCF’s offensive coordinator, Lebby said he learned “a whole bunch” from Heupel, who’s now the head coach at Tennessee.

One of the things he learned was to turn over every rock to find a quarterback. That’s what he did when he recruited Gabriel out of Mililani High School in Hawaii.

“I envisioned him having an opportunity to being a really, really good player and being a guy who could lead a football team, a championship-caliber team,” Lebby said of Gabriel. “Obviously, with the way that things have worked out for us and for us to be here, and together, I didn’t picture that.”

Gabriel followed McKenzie Milton at Mililani, and he followed him at UCF. Milton’s devastating knee injury at the end of the 2018 season, however, thrust Gabriel into the Knights’ lineup as a true freshman in 2019.

“When you’re 18, taking your first snap, a lot’s going through your head,” Gabriel said. “Just the whole journey, getting to this point.”

Lebby was at UCF in 2018 and 2019 before spending the 2020 and 2021 seasons at Ole Miss.

In his first two years as the starter at UCF — Lebby was his OC in 2019 — Gabriel was prolific, throwing for 3,653 yards and 27 touchdowns (and nine interceptions) as a true freshman, and 3,570 yards and 32 TDs (four INTs) as a sophomore. But he broke his collarbone three games into his junior season, was lost for the year and took a medical redshirt.

Gabriel played the 2019 and 2020 seasons under Heupel, then played his final season in Orlando under current Knights coach Gus Malzahn.

Dillon Gabriel at UCF :: Reinhold Matay / USA TODAY Sports

Gabriel then entered the NCAA Transfer Portal at the end of the 2021 season, and he was literally on his way to UCLA, in the airport waiting for a flight, when Lebby called and told him he’d like to coach him again at Oklahoma. 

His first season in Norman produced some nice stats — 3,168 yards, 25 touchdowns (eight INTs) — but the Sooners were just 6-7 in 2022. Two of the losses occurred after Gabriel went down with a concussion.

Safe to say that Gabriel has been through some ups and downs. Now his team is undefeated, his stats (which includes his first 100-yard rushing game in the win over Texas) are immaculate, and he’s a serious contender for the Heisman Trophy.

“I think I’ve learned a lot about myself,” Gabriel said. “I’ve learned about playing the position and then kind of the external things. There’s football and then, kind of, external things. There’s football. But then there’s being a quarterback. Being a leader. Being a great teammate. Representing a university or something bigger than yourself. It all comes with the position. I think just throughout that journey I’ve learned a lot about how I want to conduct myself.

“It was (a lot of responsibility), being thrown into the fire as well,” he added. “I think three weeks before my high school was done, I was already in college. I say that because I graduated early. And then starting my freshman year. That all happened really quick. But I learned a lot from those experiences. Kind of learned in front of many instead of on the practice field. So there’s benefits, and things that aren’t so good. Just learned from those experiences and grown and ultimately I’m at where I’m at because of those experiences.”

Gabriel also said he grew from the one season he spent playing for Malzahn.

“It was a great experience,” Gabriel said. “I think I learned a lot in being able to go from one scheme to another, just learning different terminology, but also just adjusting to new coaching. In my career I’ve had three different head coaches, four different QB coaches and three different OCs. So I think all those experiences built together. I think I’ve just been able to learn a bunch, have a bunch of connection, and also just my growth as a QB has been because of that.”

“He’s had a ton of growth in a lot of different ways,” Lebby said. “He’s playing with edge, he’s playing with toughness and he’s playing with great confidence. He trusts his teammates. We’ll continue to strive for that as we go forward.”

While Lebby said he foresaw Gabriel being “very, very good” when he recruited him to UCF, he didn’t exactly see him as a Heisman contender. At least, he didn’t acknowledge if he did.

“I’m going to let that take care of itself,” Lebby said. “I think his play has spoken for itself. I think people will start taking notice maybe a little more than they have, but we are going to continue to be inside-out. He’s played his butt off. He’ll continue to.”

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