Dillon Gabriel recalls picking UCF over Georgia, USC: 'I just wanted to play'

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who is now on his third school with the Oregon Ducks, has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football during his career. That was a career that started with the UCF Knights.

However, Gabriel’s career easily could have turned out differently if he had chosen to go to USC or Georgia, both schools that had offered him, instead of UCF. However, as he explained on Bussin’ With The Boys, Gabriel just wanted to play and the best option for that was UCF.

“At the time, I just wanted to play,” Dillon Gabriel said. “I’ve always put that at the forefront of what I want to do. I want to go play the game. That’s what I love to do.”

Dillon Gabriel ended up following McKenzie Milton to UCF after he replaced him as the starting quarterback at Mililani High School in Hawaii. However, Milton suffered a devastating knee injury late in the season before, leading to an open competition. Ultimately, Gabriel was the starter by Week 2.

“Not saying I couldn’t have played at Georgia or USC. It’s that at the time UCF was having an open competition, and I was like, ‘Hey, as long as I’ve got a shot or a chance, an opportunity to I’m gonna go make it happen,'” Gabriel said.

“At the time, Justin Fields and Jake Fromm were still at Georgia. JT Daniels was still a freshman at USC. I’m not saying I’m old, I’m just saying that was at the time. I looked at UCF. My buddy, McKenzie Milton, was injured that year and they said there was an open competition. So, I was like, ‘Let’s go do it.'”

Interestingly, prior to committing to UCF, Dillon Gabriel had been committed to go to Army. Had he stuck with that initial commitment, his career would have gone down a much different path than it ended up today.

Over the course of his career, Gabriel has thrown for 14,865 yards and 125 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 1,060 yards and 26 touchdowns. Had he gone to Army, it’s hard to imagine he would have put up those passing numbers. However, he is a capable runner, so there’s a good chance he could run the triple option well.

Dillon Gabriel ended up leaving UCF after the 2021 season, transferring to Oklahoma. There, he was a two-season starter and has since transferred again to Oregon. There, he’s expected to start in his sixth and final college season.