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Oklahoma football: Former UCF QB Dillon Gabriel transferring to Sooners

By Chip Rouse

Nov 27, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; UCF Knights quarterback Dillon Gabriel (11) runs the ball for a touchdown against the South Florida Bulls during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; UCF Knights quarterback Dillon Gabriel (11) runs the ball for a touchdown against the South Florida Bulls during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports /
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Hours after Oklahoma football quarterback Caleb Williams announced that he was exploring his options by entering the transfer portal, the Sooners have gone to the portal to bring in Dillon Gabriel, who has flipped his commitment from UCLA,

This doesn’t mean that the Sooners have written off Williams, who tweeted on Monday that he definitely could still remain at Oklahoma, but they certainly are hedging their bet by acquiring Gabriel.

Gabriel, a Hawaii native, was the starting quarterback at UCF (Central Florida) the past three seasons, but fractured his left clavicle in the third game this past season and missed the remainder of the season. He entered the transfer portal after the season, Two weeks after entering the portal, he said he made it known he was going to UCLA.

Gabriel started 12 games as a freshman at UCLA, playing for then-head coach Josh Heupel, former Oklahoma offensive coordinator and quarterback of the Sooners’ 2000 national championship team. In three seasons at UCF, Gabriel passed for 8,041 yards and 70 touchdowns with 14 interceptions.

Jeff Lebby, the new offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, was the offensive coordinator at UCF and Gabriel’s position coach in Gabriel’s freshman season in 2019.

Gabriel’s decision to sidestep UCLA and come to Oklahoma provides some valuable insurance for the Sooners in the event that Williams ultimately opts to leave the program, which a number of experts expect him to do.

If Williams ends up transferring and before Gabriel announced on Monday that he was transferring to Oklahoma, the Sooners would have been left in a situation in which no one on the current Sooner roster had thrown a single pass at Oklahoma. The Sooners do have a 2022 QB recruit in former Florida commit Nick Evers, but they want him to acclimate to the program and learn the system as a backup to Williams and/or Gabriel during his freshman year.

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