Oregon's Dillon Gabriel tabbed by PFF as a top-10 returning quarterback for the 2024 season
In the final season of his college career, Bo Nix performed like one of the top quarterbacks in the nation — and produced one of the greatest seasons ever by an Oregon signal-caller.
And yet, even with Nix headed to the NFL Draft, the Ducks arguably feature a more talent-rich quarterback room than they did at this time a year ago. During the month of December, Dan Lanning and Will Stein made two major splashes by adding former Oklahoma first-team all-conference signal-caller Dillon Gabriel and former UCLA five-star signee Dante Moore.
With former four-star signee Austin Novosad also in the fold, Oregon is set at the position for the 2024 season and beyond. But Gabriel, who threw for 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, and six interceptions in his final season with the Sooners, is expected to take hold of the starting job next fall and pick up where Nix left off.
Earlier this month, Pro Football Focus released its ranking of the top 10 returning quarterbacks for the 2024 season. Gabriel landed at No. 2 on the list, behind only Georgia’s Carson Beck.
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Here’s the rundown on Gabriel from PFF.
“Gabriel is the only player on this list who’ll have a new home in 2024 after transferring to Oregon from Oklahoma in December. This past season, his 91.7 PFF grade trailed only Daniels and Nix among FBS quarterbacks.
Gabriel is far and away the most experienced signal-caller on this list. The soon-to-be sixth-year senior has 1,855 career dropbacks during his time at UCF and Oklahoma. The next-closest top-10 quarterback, Jaxson Dart, has 1,030 career dropbacks. With that experience comes the wisdom to keep the ball out of harm’s way. Gabriel’s 2% turnover-worthy play rate during his two seasons at Oklahoma stands third among returning FBS quarterbacks.
Gabriel fares far better when he has time to set his feet and deliver, earning just a 52.4 grade when forced to bail from the pocket. It also remains to be seen how Gabriel looks outside of Jeff Lebby’s offense, who’s now the Mississippi State head coach. The good news for Oregon fans is that Gabriel should fit like a glove in Will Stein’s offense, one that relies heavily on play-action and asked Bo Nix to play the role of a supercharged game-manager, taking what the defense gives him while rarely putting the ball in danger.“
Along with Gabriel, Moore, and Novosad, the Ducks also added 2024 3-star signee Luke Moga this offseason. Akili Smith Jr., a 4-star signal-caller in the 2025 class, has committed to Oregon as well.
Next fall, though, Oregon will lean on Gabriel as it aims to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“Dillon has proven to be a winner. He has had a lot of success in college football,” Lanning told On3’s J.D. Pickell earlier this month. “I think you look at the final stretch in college football last season? You see a lot of quarterbacks with experience. … His experience is going to pay off for us as well as having those other guys in the room that are really talented.”
