Oklahoma football: Dillon Gabriel isn’t the only Sooner QB to wear No. 8 jersey
By Chip Rouse
Dillon Gabriel isn’t the first Sooner quarterback to wear the No. 8 Oklahoma football jersey – nor will he probably be the last — but he does have the opportunity to become the best OU QB to wear that number.
In just two weeks, Gabriel, who played two-plus seasons at UCF before transferring to Oklahoma this offseason, will start his first season for the Sooners at the quarterback position. While he is new to OU, Gabriel is not new to the Oklahoma offensive scheme, having played in it at UCF under new Sooner offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.
Gabriel inherited the No. 8 jersey number from wide receiver Michael Woods, who wore that for number a year ago at OU but declared for the NFL Draft after last season. Gabriel’s jersey number at UCF was 11, but that was not available at Oklahoma because it belongs to Davis Beville, another quarterback who transferred to OU after last season, from the University of Pittsburgh. That same number is worn by first-year linebacker Kobie McKinzie on the defensive side.
According to the Oklahoma athletic department, 10 different Sooner players who played the quarterback position at some point in their OU careers wore the No. 8. The most noteworthy of those former Sooner QBs were Darrell Shepard (1980-81), Garrick Mckee (1994-95) and Nate Hybl (2000-02).
Shepard operated out of the Wishbone as an OU quarterback in the early 1980s, so Gabriel, who has three more years of eligibility if he chooses to use it, will easily pass him among the career Sooner passing leaders.
Gabriel will probably also bypass McKee, who with 2,449 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 19 interceptions ranks 16th on the career list, and he should have a good shot at passing Hybl as well, who collected 5,091 passing yards with 40 touchdowns and 23 interceptions and stands 7th among OU quarterbacks all-time.
Hybl was the last Oklahoma starting quarterback to don the No. 8 jersey. In Hybl’s three seasons at OU, the Sooners compiled an overall record of 36-4, a winning percentage of .900, including two Big 12 championships. He was a backup to Josh Heupel on the last Oklahoma national championship team in 2000.
The Sooners are hoping to reprise the same kind of success under the new No. 8 at quarterback.