Quarterback Dillon Gabriel Decommits From UCLA Football, Makes Pledge to Oklahoma
The crown jewel of the Bruins' incoming transfer class has opted to continue his career elsewhere.
Just over three weeks after committing to UCLA football, former UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel has decided instead to go to Oklahoma, he announced on Twitter on Monday. This news comes just hours after Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams entered the transfer portal, although Williams said at the time he would still consider returning to Norman.
Oklahoma recently hired former UCF offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby to fill the same role on their staff.
Gabriel's decision to reunite with Lebby seems to have cleared things up for Oklahoma, which has apparently found its replacement for Williams under the assumption he does in fact leave, but it puts the Bruins in an interesting position at quarterback.
Once Gabriel committed, it was commonly accepted that quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson would be moving on to the NFL, declaring for the draft and leaving Gabriel and Ethan Garbers to compete for the starting job. However, Thompson-Robinson has yet to announce his plans for next season, and Gabriel's departure simultaneously removes and adds major question marks to the equation.
Sources told All Bruins earlier Monday that Gabriel had not signed his grant and aid package to make his move over to UCLA official, claiming that he was waiting on Thompson-Robinson to officially declare for the draft before he locked himself in. Winter quarter at UCLA began Monday, so Gabriel might have been too late to enroll in time to start classes and participate in spring camp.
The decision by Gabriel to back off his commitment to the Bruins could therefore mean one of two things – he has heard Thompson-Robinson is returning for 2022 and did not think coach Chip Kelly would pick him in that position battle, or he does not know what Thompson-Robinson's intentions are and he did not want to risk becoming the backup if the incumbent were to return.
Gabriel threw for 8,041 yards, 70 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 156.9 passing rating across 26 appearances with UCF from 2019 to 2021, leading his team to an 18-8 record in those games. He now has as many as three years of eligibility remaining at Oklahoma.
Thompson-Robinson has passed for 7,541 yards, 61 touchdowns, 26 interceptions and a 140.8 passer rating with 1,183 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns across 36 games at UCLA. If he were to return, he would only have one year of eligibility remaining.
With Gabriel out the door and Thompson-Robinson straddling the line, Garbers stands to be the current favorite to start for the Bruins in 2022. In his one start in 2021, the former Washington transfer threw for 265 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 61.4% passing.
There are now three transfers committed to UCLA, a small number considering how much emphasis Kelly has put on that avenue compared to the more traditional routes in the past two offseasons. The Bruins have just 11 players signed on for their 2022 recruiting class, but one of them is a quarterback – highly-rated local prospect Justyn Martin.
Garbers, Martin and Chase Griffin are the only scholarship quarterbacks set to be on the roster next year, depending on what happens with Thompson-Robinson. Parker McQuarrie and Kajiya Hollawayne both entered the transfer portal, Chase Artopoeus is a walk-on and incoming freshman JP Zamora is a preferred walk-on.
Catch up on all the transfer market news related to UCLA at All Bruins' transfer portal tracker.
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