On3's JD PicKell ranks Dillon Gabriel as no. 2 among 2022 transfer QB's

On3’s own JD PicKell recently revealed his list of the top transfer quarterbacks in the country following a busy offseason for the Transfer Portal. Four of the top-10 players in On3’s portal rankings are quarterbacks — all headed to major schools. With three of the top five being QB’s as well. There was a lot of consequential movement among power programs at the titular position on the football field.

However, PicKell singled one transfer out as the No. 2 overall QB transfer this offseason who wasn’t in the top-10 at all. Instead of going with a flashy name like Jaxson Dart or Quinn Ewers — neither of which have played meaningful snaps yet — PicKell boldly picked Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel as second-best passer to come out of the portal.

Here was PicKell on the On3 YouTube channel defending his pick of Gabriel (transcription below):

PicKell on Gabriel

“At No. 2 I like Dillon Gabriel. [He] transferred from UCF to Oklahoma. So much of the whole Quinn Ewers conversation — some of you might be upset about this. Remember what this is about. This is about what have you done on a football field so far. Dillon Gabriel has the most proven track record out of anybody on this list. Just the fact of the matter. So, ability-wise, is he Quinn Ewers? No he’s not Quinn Ewers. Ability-wise, is he Jaxson Dart? No.

“From what we know about him — what he’s stepping into, playing with his former offensive coordinator in Jeff Lebby, playing in a program that in my opinion is going to be able to play with and edge and really do some good things around him — Dillon Gabriel has the most proven track record of anybody on this list. Remains to be seen what he does in the fall.”

PicKell staked his claim. He sides with the known commodity over the unknown talent. And that’s not to say Dillon Gabriel isn’t wildly talented. The Hawaiian was a three-star recruit out of high school that UCF plucked from the other side of the country. Getting on with the Golden Knights is no joke, especially at the quarterback position, where they’ve had a run of talented players.

Now, his steady hand will lead the Sooners into the post-Lincoln Riley era. Not a bad choice for Oklahoma.