Dillon Gabriel details conversation with Marcus Mariota to wear No. 8 at Oregon

Dillon Gabriel will wear No. 8 at Oregon, becoming the first quarterback to don the number since Ducks legend Marcus Mariota left school nearly a decade ago.

Of course, Gabriel sought out permission from Mariota, who now plays for the Washington Commanders, to wear the jersey number before making it official.

“I think it was just more of a respect coming from the islands. Like, he’s the guy we kind of looked up to and he kind of set the stage for all the quarterbacks coming up,” Gabriel told Will Compton on an episode of ‘Bussin’ With The Boys.’ “Not only quarterbacks, but players in general. I wore No. 8 at Oklahoma, but once I came here I kind of told the coach, I was like, ‘Hey, out of respect I’ll probably wear a new number,’ or something like that.

“I don’t know, I just kind of rethought it because [Oregon head coach Dan Lanning] said something cool about how special that would be. Then, I texted [Mariota] and then next thing you know, I just said ‘Hey, can I wear it?’ I wanted to get his ‘Okay,’ and then once I did, it’s special.”

Unlike Mariota, who spent his entire college career in Eugene, Gabriel has been a journeyman throughout his collegiate tenure. Starting out at UCF, he spent three seasons in Orlando before taking on a new challenge at Oklahoma over the last two years.

This past season at Oklahoma, Gabriel had arguably the best season of his career yet. He finished with 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 69.3% completion percentage,  373 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Over the course of his career, Gabriel has 14,865 yards, 125 touchdowns, 26 interceptions, a 63.1% completion percentage, 1,060 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns.

As a member of the Class of 2019, Gabriel was a three-star recruit out of Mililani (Hawaii) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 7 overall prospect in the state, the No. 44 quarterback in the class and the No. 680 overall prospect in the class.

Mariota is one of the best college quarterbacks in recent memory and his final season led him to his aforementioned Heisman Trophy and was subsequently selected No. 2 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. In 2014, he finished with 4,454 yards, 42 touchdowns, four interceptions, a 68.3% completion percentage, 770 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.