Oklahoma 2022 Report Card: Quarterback
In this story:
Jeff Lebby and Dillon Gabriel reunited in Norman to lead Oklahoma’s new-look offense in 2022.
After spending one year together at UCF in 2019, the duo enjoyed nice results in 2022.
Gabriel finished second in the Big 12 with 3,168 passing yards despite missing a game and half due to a concussion sustained against TCU, while also throwing 25 touchdowns and a league-low six interceptions.
He only trailed Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan in passing yards in the conference, but paced all Big 12 quarterbacks with 8.6 yards per attempt last year.
Gabriel’s season ended as the No. 15-overall single-season passing effort in program history, and finished No. 18 in OU history in completion percentage, connecting on 62.7 percent of his passing attempts.
His role as a leader was irreplaceable, especially throughout spring practice and summer workouts.
Experienced in Lebby’s system, Gabriel played a key role in teaching the offense to his teammates, which enabled the Sooners to run at a high tempo.
2022 OU Report Cards:
- Wednesday, Jan. 4: Defensive Ends
- Thursday, Jan. 5: Offensive Line
- Friday, Jan. 6: Defensive Tackles
- Saturday, Jan. 7: Tight Ends
- Sunday, Jan. 8: Linebackers
- Monday, Jan. 9: Wide Receivers
- Tuesday, Jan. 10: Cornerbacks
- Wednesday, Jan. 11: Running Backs
- Thursday, Jan. 12: Safeties
- Friday, Jan. 13: Quarterbacks
- Saturday, Jan. 14: Special Teams
- Sunday, Jan. 15: Coaching Staff
Through non-conference play, the lefty averaged 253 passing yards per game, but he announced himself to Sooner fans with a 61-yard touchdown scamper against Nebraska on a quarterback draw to level the game in the first quarter.
Returning back to Norman to open Big 12 play, Gabriel had a solid performance statistically.
He threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns, but missed Drake Stoops on a pair of key throws. The first would have resulted in a walk-in touchdown, and the second killed an OU drive on fourth down in a game the Sooners lost by just one score.
A week later, Oklahoma’s trip to Fort Worth proved to be incredibly concerning for the entire quarterback room.
Gabriel’s inaccurate start was made worse when he was knocked out of the game by a late hit.
Backup Davis Beville stepped in, but was unable to move the offense, finishing 7-of-16 for 50 passing yards.
Matters got worse in Dallas the next week.
With Gabriel unavailable, the Sooners resorted to the Wildcat package with Brayden Willis and Eric Gray primarily taking direct snaps against Texas.
Beville only attempted 12 passes, throwing for 38 yards and one interception, while he was primarily spread out wide to allow for the direct snaps to Oklahoma’s skill position players.
Gabriel returned against Kansas, ushering normalcy back to OU’s offense for the back half of conference play.
Facing off against the ranked Jayhawks, Gabriel threw for 403 yards and two touchdowns, shredding Lance Leipold’s defense.
It was the first of two 400-yard performances in 2022, as Gabriel also lit up Texas Tech in the season finale.
He threw for a career-high 449 yards and six touchdowns in Lubbock, though the offense was unable to keep pace in overtime after he was briefly knocked out of the game following a reverse pass on the first snap of the period.
Future teammate and Red Raider safety Reggie Pearson crumpled Gabriel on the sideline, but the Sooner star returned one play later to close out the game.
Playing behind a makeshift offensive line, Gabriel also had a nice showing in his return to Orlando in the Cheez-It Bowl against Florida State.
Leading a young offense, he threw for 243 yards and a score.
There was virtually no depth at the position, as evidenced by OU’s game plan without Gabriel against Texas, but Gabriel finished as the Big 12’s highest-rated quarterback by Pro Football Focus, finishing the year with a 87.0 grade.
Grading the Quarterbacks:
- Hoover: B-
- Chapman: B
- Callaway: B-
- Lovelace: B
Quarterbacks GPA: 2.85 (Graded a B on a 4.0 scale)
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