Josh Heupel shares what separates Dillon Gabriel as quarterback, memories together

Before Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel was leading the Sooners to one of the most electric wins of the college football season over the weekend, he was an under-recruited prospect out of Mililani, Hawaii who started his college football career at UCF. His head coach at the time is the current head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers Josh Heupel, and it’s safe to say the two have come a long way since.

Heupel spoke about Gabriel following his historic performance in one of the game’s biggest rivalries against Texas, pulling back the curtain on his humble beginnings and what makes him such a special player.

“Dillon’s a guy that, a little bit early in the early stages of recruiting was probably under-recruited a little bit and McKenzie [Milton], just as we were getting ready to head into the season, was just talking about Dillon. He had been with him,” Heupel said. “Dillon took over for McKenzie. He was back home throwing with him during the summer. Just his continued growth as a player and as the season started, getting a chance to watch the video, he was smart, competitive, accurate with the football.”

Milton was Heupel’s starting quarterback for his first season as the Knights’ head coach in 2018, until a catastrophic knee injury sidelined him for two entire seasons and Gabriel was handed the keys to the offense.

In his two seasons as UCF’s starter, Gabriel threw for 7,223 yards and 59 touchdown passes, picking up right where Milton left off from one Mililani High School alumni to another.

“He’s a winner. All the things that McKenzie was talking about with Dillon and then obviously you could see that on the tape, too. McKenzie’s been a huge part of Dillon’s growth as a player and off the field, too. Just how you handle everything as a quarterback and that really dates back to when they were in high school together and also the years at UCF,” Heupel said.

Unfortunately, similar to Milton, Gabriel suffered a season-ending injury in his third year as UCF’s starter, fracturing his clavicle in Week 3 of the 2021 season. But he also decided to take his talents elsewhere following his injury, transferring to Oklahoma in 2022 where he’d rank second in the Big 12 in passing yards and touchdowns behind Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan.

Gabriel is on pace this season to improve on those numbers and improve the Sooners’ record significantly following a disappointing season a year ago, which all culminated in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday in the biggest game of his career.

“I haven’t seen a bunch of him. I got a chance to watch the two-minute drive. I was at my sons game, actually, and didn’t get a chance to watch the majority of the football game,” Heupel admitted. “But first of all, Dillon’s a winner. I’m saying that, just he’s relentless in the way that he works off the field, on the practice field and competes that way every single Saturday. And he’s extremely bright. Understands defense and offensively what you’re doing. Because of that, he gets the ball out quick.”

Heupel may not have caught the entirety of Gabriel’s game, but his performance will be remembered for quite some time by the masses.

Gabriel threw for 285 yards and rushed for a career-high 113 yards versus Texas, punching in a rushing touchdown and throwing the game-winning pass to Nic Anderson that capped off a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that started with one minute and 17 seconds remaining in the ball game.

“He’s extremely accurate with the football. Great decision maker and somebody that has been playing as well as anybody. When we were back at UCF, I think he led the country in passing and certainly has had a great start to the season this year. More than anything, it’s just his competitive makeup and nature, man. He’s got an ability to rally the guys around him, too, because of his infectious energy,” Heupel concluded.

Gabriel’s energy permeated throughout his entire team in a major way, as the Sooners played with intensity and passion throughout the ball game. They extend their record to 6-0 on the season following a 6-7 finish last year, and it will be intriguing to see if Gabriel can continue elevating his team through the second half of the season.

Gabriel faces a familiar foe following the Sooners’ bye week, as Oklahoma faces UCF in their next matchup on October 21.