While a certain uber-talented freshman in Caleb Williams takes a trip out to the transfer portal, the Oklahoma Sooners saw another quarterback come in Dillion Gabriel. Gabriel sidestepped UCLA after being committed there just 18 days, taking his talents to Norman.
This commitment looks much more likely to stick as he lands at OU with the man who helped turn him into a freshman All-American; offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby. The pair’s time at UCF was a fun one and it saw them break records, accumulate a lot of yards, and put up a lot of points. It’s not hard to imagine why Gabriel instantly jumped when contacted by Lebby after Williams hit the transfer portal.
Under Lebby’s tutelage and leadership in 2019, UCF ranked second in the nation in total offense (540.5), the most in their program’s history. The Knights also ranked fifth in scoring (43.4), racking up 40 or more points in eight games.
Only two teams in the country averaged more than 300 yards passing and 200 yards rushing per game in 2019… Lebby’s UCF and the Oklahoma Sooners.
What made the pair of Gabriel and Lebby so dynamic?
Let’s take a look.
Here’s one of their passing concepts. It plays heavily on the use of timing and a pump fake to be effective but it’s money. The throw here isn’t by Gabriel but it’s a play that showcases Lebby’s ingenuity.
There’s a vertical route at the bottom of the screen which the defense bites on. The slot receiver pauses and it freezes the defender who has no safety help because the high safety was occupied with the vertical route. The QB immediately rips to the open space for an easy chunk play on the skinny post.
In this clip, you’ll see Gabriel against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Here’s a simple play fake on an inside handoff and Gabriel rips a quick ball to the slot receiver who stops after 3 yards and catches a pass and fights for extra yards for an easy first down against a defense playing off coverage.
Envision guys like Marvin Mims, Jalil Farooq, Theo Wease, Drake Stoops in some of these spots.
This next play happened immediately after the previous one. More off coverage from the slot with a boundary corner using the bail technique, which allows the outside receiver to slip right into the space vacated by the slot corner for an easy slant completion. There’s no pulling guard here but the play-action fake and the route concepts are the same.
Lastly, the same look for the third play in a row. This time there’s no play action. A dip of the shoulder by Gabriel post-snap freezes the boundary corner who is looking in the backfield setting up the outside receiver to run the stop and go. The peek plus the hitch catches the corner flat-footed and the receiver runs by him. A better throw by Gabriel and that is six points.
Lebby uses the passing game in coordination with the QB run and traditions running games. He does a good job at getting his pass-catchers into space with double moves and play action. With Oklahoma’s talent at receiver and tight end, there’s a lot of reason for optimism for the Oklahoma Sooners offense in 2022.
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