Dan Lanning dishes on 'legacy' Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, importance of No. 8 jersey

As Oregon looks to continue its push toward the playoffs it’ll have to do so without talented veteran quarterback Bo Nix, who is off to the NFL. In steps Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel.

Gabriel is expected to take over and immediately fill in as the starter, potentially even increasing the output, as tall a task as that may sound.

“I got the opportunity to recruit him a little bit when I was at Georgia before,” coach Dan Lanning said at Big Ten Media Days. “And getting to reconnect with him, obviously he’s a legacy. His dad set a lot of records as a quarterback before and now Dillon gets an opportunity to carry on that legacy, I know wearing the No. 8 and representing the number that Marcus (Mariota) wore here at Oregon means a lot to him.”

Dillon Gabriel certainly has the statistical production behind him, as well as the lineage.

His dad is Garrett Gabriel, a former quarterback at Hawaii from 1986-90 who threw for 5,638 yards and 47 touchdowns.

During his own career, Gabriel has accounted for 152 total touchdowns, 15,925 total yards, 14,865 passing yards and 125 passing touchdowns. Each of those figures ranks in the top 10 in NCAA history.

But it’s not the accolades that impress Lanning, it’s how well Dillon Gabriel has integrated into the Oregon program.

“What’s maybe impressed me the most with Dillon is his ability to connect with people not just in our program, but outside of our program,” Lanning said. “Whether that’s taking an offensive retreat or taking our players to different parts of Oregon to throw the ball around in fellowship, or it’s having the managers over to his house to watch a fight or eat a meal. He’s really done a great job of connecting quickly and I’m really excited about the experience he brings to the position.”

Lanning harped on his relationship with Dillon Gabriel from his time recruiting at Georgia as a key factor in landing him at Oregon.

But it’s also been key to understanding what makes Gabriel tick as a player. And so far, Lanning has had the time to really develop a rapport with his starter.

That should only improve the chemistry on the field this fall.

“Spending a lot of time with each other. We got the opportunity to go, I’m not a good golfer, but Dillon and I got to go play the other day,” Lanning said. “We saw Marcus on the golf course. He’s a good competitor. But those moments.

“Those moments away from football where we get an opportunity to connect, spend some time with each other and then seeing him carry those same moments over to our players, whether it’s going out to dinner with a guy, seeing the way he operates in our locker room, really has a passion for the game and a passion to be great, and it’s exciting to have that on our team.”