Dillon Gabriel 'Grateful' to be at Oklahoma After Portal Journey

Dillon Gabriel’s road to Oklahoma was unconventional.

Entering the transfer portal after losing his season at UCF due to injury, Gabriel was one of the early quarterback entrants into the portal, and as a result, he had plenty of options in front of him.

In an appearance on The Podcast on the Prairie with Jeremiah Hall and Brayden Willis, Gabriel spoke about his experience in the portal, and how he was initially looking to link up with new Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

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“(I) entered the portal in November or early December,” Gabriel told Hall and Willis. “Went through the process. Took a couple visits. I visited Ole Miss, where Coach Lebby was.

“Visited UCLA and then obviously Coach Lebby came here. Kinda made my decision a little easier, not knowing the full situation yet. I committed to UCLA.”

For most, that would have been the end of the story. Gabriel was set to be the starting quarterback at UCLA, but then Caleb Williams’ situation opened a door in Norman.

“Coach Lebby ended up giving me a call and was saying how (Caleb) was gonna be entering the portal,” Gabriel said. “… A spot opened up and I ran with it.

“I truly believe in Coach (Brent Venables), got to talk to him. Got to talk to Coach Leb and just felt like it was a no-brainer.”

Even arriving at Oklahoma wasn’t simple, however.

Williams announced he would be entering the transfer portal on Jan. 3, which was also the first day of classes at UCLA.

Had Gabriel attended class, he would have been locked in to UCLA for a year by NCAA rules, unable to transfer and gain immediate eligibility elsewhere.

Thankfully for Gabriel, Lebby was able to give him a call indicating Williams would be entering the portal, pumping the brakes on Gabriel heading to class on Jan. 3 and opening another door for the talented quarterback.

“Honestly, I tried to keep other peoples' situations out of it,” Gabriel said. “I just felt like it was an open opportunity. That's what I was told. Once I heard that, I ran with it.

“… It was a chance to play with a really good team. This school's got a lot of history with quarterbacks, but also just some great players.”

From there, Gabriel said he was committed to joining the Sooners, regardless of if Williams returned to Norman out of the transfer portal or not.

Once Williams did indeed announce he was going to transfer, the path was clear for Gabriel to be the starter, something Lebby confirmed during his press conference on National Signing Day.

But that fact hasn’t changed Gabriel’s approach at all, he said.

“That doesn't really change anything in terms of like continuing to compete, continuing to work, being who I am,” Gabriel said. “That's who I am, too, so it's a bit easy for me because I ain't gotta fake it. I continue to work and grind every day because that's what the quarterback does. Set the standard, but also bring the guys around him to do the same thing.”

Gabriel started to build bonds with his new teammates off the field, too.

Willis said Gabriel took the time to take him out to eat so they could get to know each other better, a leadership quality Willis said resonated with him.

But the bonding wasn’t just limited to the football team.

Softball superstar Jocelyn Alo also had Gabriel over for dinner to welcome another Hawaiian to the Sooner family along with Hawaii transfer Jonah Laulu.

“It was good,” Gabriel said. “By the way, she’s a good cook… I’m grateful to her.”

While he’s still getting acclimated to life in Norman, Gabriel said the goals for the year have been clear since he arrived at OU.

“The biggest thing is, obviously, not looking past, is the conference championship and taking care of business on that side of things,” Gabriel said. “Obviously, being at this caliber of school, that National Championship is something that we always chase… Right when I walked in, it was very clear what the goals were.

“And being around guys like that, shoot, we all make ourselves better, even in the workouts, the type of leadership we’ve got in the building, man, it’s crazy to see. I’m just blessed to be here. Grateful. And shoot, we’re going to get to work.”

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