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Dillon Gabriel rocks Oregon, Oklahoma, UCF on same helmet at Senior Bowl

by:Alex Byington•01/28/25•

_AlexByington

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Chris Pietsch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dillon Gabriel‘s well-traveled college career will be on full display in front of NFL scouts during Senior Bowl week in Mobile.

The Oregon quarterback will emblazen his helmet with decals representing all three of the colleges he played for over his prolific six-year collegiate career — Oregon, Oklahoma and UCF.

Gabriel, who finished third in the 2024 Heisman Trophy balloting, is looking to turn heads and climb draft boards this week in Mobile after racking up a combined 18,722 passing yards and 155 touchdowns for the Ducks, Sooners and Knights between 2019-24. He also added 1,209 rushing yards and 33 scores on the ground across his career.

Gabriel capped his lengthy college career with his best statistical season to date, leading the Big Ten with 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns on 72.9-percent passing, which ranked second nationally behind only Colorado‘s Shedeur Sanders.

Gabriel and Miami QB Cam Ward finished a distant third and fourth in the 2024 Heisman voting behind runaway winner Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter and runner-up Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty with 516 and 229 total points, respectively. Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo rounded out the Top 5 with 170 total points. Army QB Bryson Daily, Penn State TE Tyler Warren, Sanders, Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke and Syracuse QB Kyle McCord filled out the rest of the Top 10 in 2024 Heisman voting.

Chip Kelly recalls what drew him to Dillon Gabriel while at UCLA

Chip Kelly once tried to get Dillon Gabriel to UCLA while he was still the head coach of the Bruins.

When Gabriel left UCF and entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, he initially committed to UCLA before having a last-second flip to Oklahoma. Following his stint with the Sooners, Gabriel ended up at Oregon for his final year of college football.

Ahead of the 2024 Rose Bowl national quarterfinal vs. the Ducks, Kelly — the first-year Buckeyes offensive coordinator — described what made Gabriel a special quarterback and why Ohio State will have its hands full with Oregon in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

“Yeah, I’m not surprised at the success Dillon has had,” Kelly said. “You know, you could see it when he was at Mililani in Hawaii in high school, and then watching what he did at Central Florida didn’t surprise me, the success he had at Oklahoma, nor the success he’s had at Oregon. He’s extremely accurate. I think he’s really calm. There’s a poise about him that I think is kind of special for the quarterback position. 

“Doesn’t seem to get rattled too much, really has a true understanding of what they want to get accomplished there and it’s also really athletic so that if you do take away some of his options from a throw standpoint, he can beat you with his legs so I think he’s he’s the complete package. And one of the top quarterbacks in the country.”

Nick Kosko contributed to this report.