Nick Saban draws comparison between Dillon Gabriel, Tua Tagovailoa
Dillon Gabriel is excelling in his first season at Oregon after transferring in from Oklahoma this offseason. The senior has helped the Ducks to an undefeated start and No. 1 ranking. He has already thrown for more than 2,000 yards and has 19 total touchdowns.
Former Alabama coach Nick Saban spoke about how impressed he has been with the lefty Saturday morning on ESPN College GameDay. He also compared Gabriel to one of his former star quarterbacks who is now excelling in the NFL.
“I think the first thing is the guy has lots of experience. He’s got lots of poise. He’s very instinctive at reading coverages, getting the ball out of his hand quickly. And he’s very accurate,” Nick Saban said of Dillon Gabriel.
“This guy is a complete player. He’s got a lot of grit. He reminds me of another Hawaiian quarterback we had – Tua [Tagovailoa]. And I think he’s going to be an outstanding pro player. I like that type – left-handed, Hawaiian. Yea, it works out.”
The similarities between Dillon Gabriel and Tua Tagovailoa are impossible to ignore. Both are left-handed, both are from Hawaii, both are undersized and both are really good. It will be interesting to see how Gabriel finishes off this season and if he can also go on to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
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Nick Saban has Dillon Gabriel among elite quarterbacks
In addition to Dillon Gabriel, Nick Saban also shared other quarterbacks who have impressed him this season. Saban believes that three in particular stand out.
“Well, the No. 1 thing about the quarterback is he’s going to distribute the ball every play of the game. So you’ve got to be able to trust a guy’s going to make good choices and decisions. And to me, Dillon Gabriel, Cam Ward and Drew Allar at Penn State have been the guys that have been most consistent at that,” Saban said.
“I think there’s a lot of other really good quarterbacks, but at times they’ve all shown some cracks in their armor and their decision making. And you’ve gotta play winning football, which means you can’t make plays for the other team. You’ve gotta take what the defense gives.”