What's Behind UCF Quarterback Dillon Gabriel's Transfer to Oklahoma?

There are connections and opportunities for Dillon Gabriel to head to Oklahoma.

Marc Miceli | Jan 10, 2022

In this story:

The Oklahoma Sooners got their new year started off with a bang when Dillon Gabriel announced on social media that he will be transferring to play for Head Coach Brent Venable and his staff in Norman, Oklahoma. This decision came a few weeks after Gabriel decided to transfer to UCLA to play for former Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Chip Kelly.

They say life’s a gamble like rolling the dice… DIMETIME pic.twitter.com/8xGNDWjaR3
— Dillon Gabriel (@_dillongabriel_) January 4, 2022

An important thing to note about this is Gabriel will be reuniting with former UCF Quarterback Coach and Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby. During his time at UCF, he helped coach and develop McKenzie Milton and Dillon Gabriel. When McKenzie Milton was the starter for the Knights, he ranked 7th in passing yards per attempt, finished 9th in passer efficiency rating, and also finished 6th in the Heisman Trophy Voting in 2018 with 39 votes. After his injury, McKenzie Milton transferred to Florida State University and almost led the Seminoles in a near-comeback win against Notre Dame in their first game.

Milton has since appeared on the Black and Gold Banneret Podcast and voiced that he is still pursuing his dream of playing in the NFL. You can catch their full interview here. Milton also accepted an invitation to play in the 2022 Hula Bowl which will take place at the Bounce House on January 15th.

Excited to announce I’ll be playing my last collegiate game where it all started…the bounce house!! 🤩😎 thank you @Hula_Bowl 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/zogH9cMrDW
— McKenzie Milton (@McKenzieMil10) December 5, 2021

Circling back to Gabriel, as a true freshman, he saw very similar success as Lebby was promoted to become Josh Heupel’s offensive coordinator before the 2019 season. During that season, the Knights finished as the 6th-best scoring offense and Gabriel threw for 3,653 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

It will be interesting to see if their reunion can emulate the success that both had and with Caleb Williams entering the transfer portal, Oklahoma will be an important team to watch next season. Numerous notable Sooners alumni have tweeted out their support for Gabriel including current Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, 2018 Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, and the 2012 NFL Most Valuable Player in Adrian Peterson.

You can find me on Twitter @MarcMiceli_