Brent Venables details where Dillon Gabriel stands ahead of 2023 season

Oklahoma is hoping to sweep 2022’s 6-7 season under the rug entering year two of the Brent Venables era, and everyone is looking toward starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel for leadership as the Sooners pull themselves out of the mud.

The one thing that sets Gabriel apart from the rest of the quarterback room, and rest of his team for that matter, is experience.

“He’s no different than any other player, but he has played a lot of football,” Venables said of his quarterback. “When he does make a mistake, he’s quick to know it and knows how to fix it. The biggest thing for a quarterback is accuracy and making good decisions in both pre and post snap. Relying on the experience that he has, he can make a lot of good decisions post-snap.

“But he’s done great. He has led well and they’re still going through an aggressive stage of installation but he has handled everything well.”

Three and a half seasons of experience being a starting quarterback at the collegiate level under your belt is what Gabriel brings to Oklahoma’s offense in 2023. Last season was his first in Norman, and he put up strong numbers having thrown for 3,168 yards and 25 touchdowns compared to six interceptions to go along with a 62.7% completion percentage.

Before that, he began his career at UCF in 2019, where during his first two years Gabriel threw for 7,223 yards and 61 touchdowns while completing 59.7% of his passes during that span. Prior to his injury in 2021 that ultimately led to his transfer, he went 70-for-102 passing for 818 yards and nine touchdowns through three games for Malzahn’s Knights.

After the 2021 season was through, Gabriel elected to enter the transfer portal. He originally announced his commitment to UCLA, but Gabriel ended up switching his commitment hours after Caleb Williams announced he would be transferring out of the OU program to follow former head coach Lincoln Riley.

That opened the door for Gabriel to reunite with his former offensive coordinator in 2019, Jeff Lebby, who had just been hired by the then brand new Sooners head coach in Brent Venables.

Lebby and Gabriel will lead the offensive charge, while Venables’ defense is expected to be improved from last season. With the SEC move on the horizon, a positive season is mandatory for the Sooners in 2023, and they seem pretty confident in their leader.