Marvin Mims discusses the transition with Dillon Gabriel, catching left-handed passes

The Oklahoma Sooners have a long-standing tradition of having some of the finest offensive skill players in all of college football. This year will be no different and they will once again have some of the nation’s most electrifying wideouts in their offensive arsenal. Marvin Mims and Theo Wease both decided to return to Norman and suit up for the Crimson and Cream for the 2022-2023 college football season. During Thursday’s Big 12 Media Days in Arlington, Texas, Mims took some time to talk with reporters about the transitioning process to Dillon Gabriel as his new quarterback and what it’s been like adjusting to catching passes from a left-handed signal-caller.

First, he spoke about what it’s been like having Gabriel as a teammate. “It’s been good. Ever since he committed, he called me, it was the first thing he did, ever since then, I came back to Norman, we’ve been hanging out, spending good time, not even like football related. Just having some good boys time,” Mims said.

Then he talked a bit about the adjustment of catching passes from a left-handed quarterback. “It was definitely different the first few times out there throwing, but especially sometimes during spring, different balls and different kinds of routes, but now I say we’re pretty comfortable with the left [handed] quarterback,” Mims said on Thursday.

Dillon Gabriel put up some big-time numbers while at UCF

Dillon Gabriel put together some impressive seasons at UCF during his career, including two 3,000-yard seasons with the Knights. But after entering the transfer portal, he ended up at Oklahoma — and he didn’t hesitate to make that call.

Sooners coach Brent Venables had to get creative to replace Caleb Williams, who entered the portal and eventually followed Lincoln Riley to USC. He and new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby turned their attention to the portal to land Gabriel, who worked with Lebby for a year at UCF in 2019.

During Big 12 Media Days on Thursday, Gabriel said the decision to take his talents to Norman was an easy one — and Venables and Lebby played huge roles in it.

“Just really believed in Coach Venables, Coach Lebby,” Gabriel told ESPN’s Sam Acho. “Obviously knew what Oklahoma has to offer. For me, it was a no-brainer. Right when I got the call, I knew what was up.”

Gabriel only played in three games in 2021 at UCF before a shoulder injury cut his season short. In that time, he completed 70 of 102 passes for 818 yards and nine touchdowns. He entered the portal after the year and initially committed to UCLA. But after Williams decided to transfer from Oklahoma, he flipped his commitment to the Sooners.

But Gabriel turned in a huge freshman season in 2019 under Lebby’s watch when he was the UCF offensive coordinator. The Hawaii native threw for 3,653 yards and 27 touchdowns in 13 starts to help the Knights to a 10-3 overall record and a Gasparilla Bowl appearance.

The Oklahoma Sooners kick off their 2022-2023 season against the UTEP Miners. That one is slated for Sept. 3 at 3:30 PM EST.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle and Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.