Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy opens up about agonizing decision to flip to A&M

ORLANDO – College football is a religion to many people. And following their favorite school’s success on the recruiting trail is an important part of that fandom. But sometimes the obsession for the stars of tomorrow can go just a little too far. Just ask Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy about that.

Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, the five-star defensive lineman from Lakeland, Fla., was the focus of one of the most shocking recruiting flips of the season. He switched a longtime commitment from Oklahoma to Texas A&M after Lincoln Riley left Norman for USC and the Sooners’ coaching staff broke up.

Brownlow-Dindy said after practice Saturday for the Under Armour All-America Game the decision to flip was the most difficult one he’s made in his young life.

And it was one that did not sit so well with some fans.

“The OU fans and Texas A&M fans were both behind me and really liked me,” Brownlow-Dindy said. “But when I picked Oklahoma over Texas A&M, the Texas A&M fans were like, ‘Yeah, he’s just going where he wants to go.’ They weren’t really salty about it.

“But when I flipped, that was like a whole different story. I had hate all over the place. People were sending death threats and all that. I really didn’t care about it, but it was a little bit too much.”

Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy isn’t a pawn in fans’ game

It was so much that Brownlow-Dindy turned off all of his notifications and even shielded his parents from the blowback from angry Sooner fans.

“Man, they hated me,” Brownlow-Dindy said. “I didn’t let (my parents) read it because they would have tried to say something. The fans, look at us as toys or like players in a game. But we actually have our own lives. We are actually human. They don’t look at us like human beings anymore. I didn’t want to be a pawn in their game.”

Instead, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy said he made a decision that was best for him and for his family. It was a choice made because there were many unfamiliar faces on the OU coaching staff after former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables was hired.

“It was hard making (a commitment) the first time,” Brownlow-Dindy said. “After I got done with it the first time, me and my parents were like, ‘We’re done.’ When it opened back up, I was like, ‘Not again.’ It was a Sunday night after my church service when I figured out that I needed to open it back up. I was like, ‘There’s no way this just happened.’

“I was going to stay there (Oklahoma). But when my d-line coach (Calvin Thibodeaux) left, I was like ‘I’m out of here.’ You can kind of expect a defensive coordinator to go for a better job. But I built a relationship with that d-line coach. He was going to be the one I was with most of the time. And that was definitely a big thing.

“If I wanted to go to Clemson, I would have gone to Clemson. But this was a whole bunch of Clemson coaches that I did get to know a little bit. But not like I got to know at Texas A&M.”

Brownlow Dindy: ‘A&M felt right’

Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy said it was that steady relationship and continuity with the Aggie coaching staff that won him over in the end.

“Texas A&M and Oklahoma were tied until the very last second when I originally committed,” Brownlow-Dindy said. “So, when those relationships were gone and my relationships were still at Texas A&M, the right thing to do was go to Texas A&M.”

And once Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy made the decision to flip to Texas A&M, he didn’t look back. The sour feedback from the Oklahoma fans helped solidify that sentiment.

“I knew it was going to be best for me to go to Texas A&M,” Brownlow-Dindy said. “Oklahoma was my dream school growing up. I wanted to go to Oklahoma. The things that happened, I couldn’t really help. I just didn’t think I’d fit.

“I know it’s supposed to be about the program. I’m not bashing those coaches. They’re great. But I just didn’t build the relationship with them.”