How Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel Created Heisman Buzz Against Tulsa
It may be early, but Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel is quietly making a case for Heisman Trophy consideration after throwing five touchdown passes in the Sooners' 66-17 dismantling of Tulsa on Saturday.
Gabriel completed 28-of-31 passes for 421 yards, including 315 yards in the first half. He threw two scoring passes to Nic Anderson and Drake Stoops and one to Jalil Farooq.
"Dillon was incredibly accurate today and made several good plays in tight coverage," head coach Brent Venables said. "I love that we spread the ball around. I think we had 11 different guys catch the ball today."
Through three games, Gabriel has completed 66-of-80 passes for 905 yards and 11 touchdowns. He threw his first interception of the season in the second quarter Saturday.
"For me, I'm just focusing on continuing to get better," he said. "Continuing to be great for this team, be their leader, be their teammate. All it takes is a W for me."
Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said Gabriel and the offense took what the Golden Hurricane defense gave them Saturday and "threw it around a little more than probably normal."
"He was accurate," Lebby said. "I thought he made really good decisions and did a really nice job of playing through all of his progressions and then taking the first one when he had the first one, so I was proud of him for that."
The touchdown passes to Anderson went for 28 and 42 yards while both scoring throws to Stoops covered 4 yards.
Gabriel called it the start of something special for Anderson, who also caught a scoring pass of 50 yards from true freshman QB Jackson Arnold and finished with three catches for 120 yards and three touchdowns.
"I think the world of Nic and I think he is a very special human being," Gabriel said. "Just how big he is, how fast he is ... ."
Farooq's touchdown covered 34 yards and atoned for a fumble after he gained 62 yards on the game's opening kickoff.
"It's funny, because he's a guy who really does have a short memory and is able to bounce back and just flush it," Gabriel said. "But just seeing the two plays he put together and then finishing like that is just a testament to how he works."
Stoops said it was good to "see everyone getting involved and clicking on all cylinders," particularly Gabriel.
"Dillon played phenomenal," he said. "In games like that they want to load the box and stuff and you have to throw the ball and, I mean, he played really great. He put the ball in tight windows and made good decisions the whole game. I can't say enough about how good he played. I mean the stats show it and you saw it, but as receivers you love it when your quarterback is clicking like that, for sure."
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