Dillon Gabriel on feeling pressure from Oklahoma fans, passion: 'You gotta love it'

Pressure makes diamonds, and it makes Dillon Gabriel more confident in his abilities.

At least, that’s how the latest in the line of talented Oklahoma quarterbacks sounded, as he explained his feelings on the pressure he’s feeling — or not feeling — regarding the passion on Sooners faithful.

“Felt it, you gotta love it too,” responded Grabriel, speaking on the ESPN set at Big 12 Media Days. “You know the Spring Game, having 75k there. And of course, just the passion for this program. You can feel it. Statistics show it. You know, with the Spring Game and of course the sell outs.

“We just want to represent the university in the right way. My coaches, my teammates. Class, respect, humility and being confident as heck.”

As you can see, Dillon Gabriel is already showing he knows what it takes to be great in Norman. Now, time will tell if his confidence results in victories — and can keep Oklahoma in the national eye amid their transformative offseason.

Dillon Gabriel discusses relationship with Jeff Lebby, how Oklahoma’s offense is different from UCF

Dillon Gabriel may have transferred from UCF to Oklahoma, but the star quarterback isn’t going in blind.

Instead of having to rebuild a rapport with a new offensive coordinator, Gabriel’s former mentor with the Knights — Jeff Lebby — is readying for his first season in Norman as their offensive guru.

During Big 12 Media Days, Gabriel joined the ESPN set to discuss his relationship with Lebby, as well as how Oklahoma’s offense is different from the one he ran at UCF.

“Coach Leb’s my dude, man. Love that guy to death,” stated Gabriel.”I wouldn’t want to go to war with anyone else. For that, and the relationship standpoint, great dude.

“Believe in him, and of course he believes in me. So, when I got the call, it was a no brainer.”

Continuing, a former three-star recruit in the 2019 class, Gabriel brings his experience as a starter at UCF the past three seasons to Norman. In 2019 as a true freshman under Lebby, Gabriel showed that he was a special player, finishing with 3,653 yards and 29 touchdowns while leading the Knights to a 10-3 record.

Then, he followed that up with 3,570 yards and 32 touchdowns as a sophomore, as it appeared primed to become a star in 2021. However, Gabriel suffered a broken clavicle in the third game of the season and sat out the rest of the year.

As he looks to bounce back from that injury, he answered how Lebby’s offense differs from the one he ran with the Knights.

“I think Coach Lebby has evolved,” stated Gabriel. “Of course, I have too. We kind of just grown that way.

“Tried to do some things that we’ve done in the past. But at the same time, diving into new things.”

It was a winding road for Dillon Gabriel to reunite with Jeff Lebby at Oklahoma, but he believes he’s right where he was meant to be.

“It’s been crazy, it’s been different,” the Oklahoma quarterback said, regarding his journey. “But man, it’s been super lovely. Just blessed to be here.

“It all happened for a reason. God put me right where I’m supposed to be.”