Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel Among Nominees for Top QB Award
Dillon Gabriel has landed on another preseason watch list.
Oklahoma’s senior quarterback is among 35 players nominated for this year’s award that goes to the best quarterback in college football.
Previously, Gabriel was nominated for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the nation’s top overall player.
Two former OU quarterbacks — Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai and reining Heisman Trophy winner and O’Brien finalist Caleb Williams of USC — are also on the list. A total of five players from the Big 12 Conference were nominated, including Kansas’ Jason Daniels, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Kansas State’s Will Howard and UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee.
Gabriel transferred to OU from Central Florida last year and led the Sooners to a 6-7 record, although he missed OU’s 49-0 loss to Texas due to a concussion.
Gabriel is a returning starter at OU and one of the most prolific active QBs in college football.
Gabriel ranks third nationally among active QBs in passing yards per game (294.9) and is second in total offense per game (312.9). He’s also fourth nationally with 11,205 passing yards and fourth with 95 touchdown passes.
OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby — who coached Gabriel as a freshman at UCF in 2019 — said he expects Gabriel to finish his career in the all-time top 10 among FBS quarterbacks statistically at the end of the 2023 season. Gabriel could climb even higher on the NCAA career lists, as he has the option to play another season in 2024.
The O'Brien Award is the latest of 16 watch lists this preseason to be revealed by the National College Football Awards Association.
For the first time in 2023, the NCFAA will package and brand national players of the week as 12 awards are set to unveil weekly honors each Tuesday this season. The first announcements will come on Wednesday, Sept. 6.
The NCFAA's annual showcase, The Home Depot College Football Awards, will air live on ESPN in early December with the exact date to be announced shortly.
The preseason watch lists for 2023 with OU players who have been nominated:
NCFAA Watch Lists
- Mon., July 31: Maxwell Award (top player; Dillon Gabriel)
- Tue., Aug 1: Outland Trophy (top lineman) and Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player; Danny Stutsman)
- Wed., Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award (kicker) and Ray Guy Award (punter; Luke Elzinga)
- Thu., Aug. 3: Paul Hornung Award (all-purpose) and Wuerffel Trophy (citizenship; Ethan Downs)
- Fri., Aug. 4: Mackey Award (tight end; Austin Stogner) and Rimington Trophy (center)
- Mon., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award (receiver)
- Tue., Aug. 8: Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback; Dillon Gabriel)
- Wed., Aug. 9: Doak Walker Award (running back)
- Thu., Aug. 10: Butkus Award (linebacker) and Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back)
- Fri., Aug. 11: Walter Camp Award (top player)
- Mon., Aug. 14: Bednarik Award (defensive player)
