Dillon Gabriel named Big Ten Preseason Offensive Player of the Year

With the addition of Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA this summer, the Big Ten is loaded with more talent than ever before. On Monday, the prestigious conference revealed its media named Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

After a standout season at Oklahoma, Gabriel transferred to Oregon this offseason. In the 2023 campaign, Gabriel tallied 266 completions, 3,660 passing yards and 30 touchdowns compared to only six interceptions. Additionally, Gabriel recorded 373 yards and 12 scores in the ground game.

For his efforts, Gabriel was a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, a Manning Award finalist and a Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 10 Finalist. Evidently, the Big Ten media members expect Gabriel to add another piece of hardware to his collection in the upcoming season.

Gabriel has massive shoes to fill. Last season, Nix led Oregon to a 12-2 record and a 12-1 mark in conference play, the program’s best under head coach Dan Lanning. If the Ducks had defeated Washington in the Pac-12 Championship, they likely would have advanced to the College Football Playoff.

Where does Dillon Gabriel fall in the Heisman race?

In an interview with On3’s Clark Brooks earlier this month, Andy Staples weighed in on Oregon’s chances of reaching the CFP in the 2024 campaign with Gabriel behind center.

“They’re going to see good defenses, and he’s probably going to put up decent numbers against good defenses,” Staples said. “They’re probably going to be in the mix for the 12-team playoff. So, all of the ingredients seem to be in place for a Heisman candidacy for Dillon Gabriel.”

Brooks echoed Staples’ praise.

“I don’t think there’s gonna be much of a difference at all,” Brooks said of the comparison between Gabriel and former Ducks QB Bo Nix. “This is a guy who is still a point guard quarterback, tremendous year over year improvement against pressure.

“There’s no reason in my mind that Dillon Gabriel cannot hit the ground running for [Oregon offensive coordinator] Will Stein… I’m not necessarily a preseason bet placer but, if I were so inclined, he would be my Heisman bet in 2024.”

Gabriel wasn’t the only one who earned preseason honors. Big Ten media members chose Oregon head coach Dan Lanning to be the Preseason Coach of the Year and Michigan defensive back Will Johnson to be the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.