Tag: jordan mccloud

Dillon Gabriel finishes ahead of Caleb Williams in Bleacher Report QB Rankings

After a tremendous season, Dillon Gabriel finished top 5 in the nation and ahead of Caleb Williams in Bleacher Report’s quarterback rankings after the regular season.

The Oklahoma Sooners offense had an incredible year. At the forefront of the Sooners offensive explosion was [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], who had a career year.

Gabriel set career highs in completion percentage (69.3%), passing yards (3,660), yards per attempt (9.5), rushing touchdowns (12), passer rating (172) while throwing for 30 touchdowns, the second-highest total in his career.

This season, Gabriel had seven games with more than 300 yards passing and three with more than 400 yards through the air. He set an Oklahoma record for touchdowns in a game (8) in the Sooners’ 59-point outburst vs. West Virginia.

More: Big 12 Bowl Projections from USA TODAY Sports

Under Gabriel, the Sooners scored 50 or more five times and more than 60 twice. Oklahoma is No. 3 in the nation in scoring and No. 4 in total yards.

A year after Oklahoma won just six games, Gabriel and the offense exploded to lead OU to their first 10-win season under Brent Venables.

In his incredible campaign, Gabriel earned a lot of respect from around the country and, at one point, thrust his name into the Heisman conversation. He led an incredible game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes against Texas and earned unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 first team.

And with that, Gabriel’s shot up the ranks of Bleacher Report’s top 25 quarterbacks, including ahead of a former Sooners quarterback and Heisman winner.

2024 NFL Draft: Top college football quarterback performances from week 7

There were some notable performances from top quarterbacks in college football including Michael Penix Jr.

What a day of college football that we had on Saturday. It was a day that epitomizes why the game of football is so beautiful. We had games with huge upsets, some unreal performances, not to mention a probable game-of-the-year candidate.

Amidst all the chaos, a select few quarterbacks rose to the occasion to lead their respective offenses to outstanding performances. We use this exercise to list the best ones from last weekend for draft-eligible quarterbacks.

WATCH: Mykael Wright tiptoes the end line for an impressive interception

Mykael Wright’s fifth interception of the season was a thing of beauty as he came down inches away from the end line to erase an Arizona scoring drive.

When the opponent is threatening the score and make it a one-possession game, it’s nice to have one of the best safeties in the country to save your bacon.

It’s also nice that he can play on his tiptoes.

Arizona was driving and had a second-and-11 from the Duck 12-yard as Wildcat quarterback Jordan McCloud rolled to his left and seemingly threw a touchdown pass. But Oregon safety Mykael Wright stepped in front of the receiver, leaped and picked the pass off.

That was the easy part.

The hard part was coming down in-bounds and Wright made his fifth interception official as his toe landed on green turf to stifle any hopes of an Arizona score to it 17-7 Ducks.

 

Notre Dame vs. USF: Third-Quarter Analysis

Things have cooled off a little in South Bend. The third quarter didn’t feature nearly as much action as the entire first half.

Things have cooled off a little in South Bend. The third quarter didn’t feature nearly as much action as the entire first half. Still, Notre Dame added onto its lead to take a 45-0 lead over USF going into the final frame, and Drew Pyne will take over for Ian Book during that time.

USF took the ball to begin the second half and looked more like a college football offense. The Bulls converted on third and fourth downs during a drive that got them to the Notre Dame 36-yard line. Despite the improvement, the drive ended when Clarence Lewis broke up a fourth-down pass from Jordan McCloud he probably should have held onto for an interception. The flip side was it gave the Irish better field position for the possession that led to a 22-yard Jonathan Doerer field goal.

The Notre Dame offense continued to look good. A 27-yard pass from Book to Tommy Tremble initially was ruled incomplete, but a replay review gave Tremble the reception and, ultimately, Doerer a chip shot. While it was disappointing not to score a touchdown, it still was something.

Though the offense didn’t reach the end zone in the quarter, special teams did. USF had its second bad long snap on a punt attempt during the game. This time, Trent Schneider didn’t have time to pick the ball up. Osita Ekwonu blocked it towards the USF end zone, where freshman Jordan Botelho recovered it for the score. Botelho, a Honolulu native, weighs in at 6-foot-2 and 248 pounds, so add that play to your “big man scores” playlist.

 

Tale of the Tape: Starting Quarterbacks – Ian Book vs. Jordan McCloud

No one can be quite sure what to expect out of the quarterbacks when Notre Dame faces USF in its lone nonconference game Saturday.

No one can be quite sure what to expect out of the quarterbacks when Notre Dame faces USF in its lone nonconference game Saturday. In one corner, you’ve got Ian Book, who was decent against Duke but showed obvious signs that’s he still getting used to his receivers and Tommy Rees’ scheme. Though he and the rest of the offense got it going by the fourth quarter except for Kyren Williams, who did his job throughout, it would be nice to see the quarterback Irish fans have come to know. The Bulls are a perfect opponent against which he can open up a little more.

In the other corner, you’ve got Jordan McCloud, who leads an offense that carried the ball more times than threw it in a 27-6 win over The Citadel. The Bulls might be able to get away with that against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent, but McCloud will need to be the focal point a lot more when facing a quality Power Five team like the Irish. Though McCloud seems to be fairly accurate in his passes, throwing for only 68 yards simply won’t cut it in the environment he’s about to walk into. His career high is 267 yards last year against Cincinnati, and that’s what he needs to shoot for to at least a shot at pulling off the upset.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson works out with Antonio Brown

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been training with former Steelers great Antonio Brown.

Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been getting some work in with former Steelers/Patriots/Raiders WR Antonio Brown recently.

This afternoon, Brown posted an Instagram story featuring several young athletes training at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Johnson, who resides in Tampa, was pictured in the social media post behind Brown.

Screenshot courtesy of Antonio Brown’s Instagram page

Jordan McCloud (not pictured) is a sophomore quarterback from the University of South Florida who has also been working out with Brown and Johnson.

It should come as no surprise that Johnson is training with Brown. The two are similar in stature — Brown, 5-10, 186 lbs. and Johnson, 5-11, 183 lbs. — and the WR emulates Brown’s playing style.

In Johnson’s first season, he had a rookie-best 59 catches. He was the Steelers’ leading receiver with 680 yards and five touchdowns — an impressive rookie season, especially considering the offense was in shambles.

If training with Brown helps Johnson improve upon those numbers this season, the Steelers are all the better for it.

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