[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] took part in warmups and a full pregame with his Oklahoma Sooners teammates in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday but ultimately wasn’t cleared to play last week in practice. His presence on the field amounted to gamesmanship and just working through the process.
Still in the protocol as of Tuesday, Gabriel looks to be progressing Ahead of a pivotal matchup with the No. 20 ranked Kansas Jayhawks. The Oklahoma Sooners may have their quarterback when they return home to Norman.
“He’s full-go at practice,” [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] said during his weekly press conference. “I think they’ve just continued, whatever all those tests are, they do those to make sure they are on the right side of it. If he continues to stay out of harm’s way in regards to that protocol, I would expect him to play.”
Venables went on to say that they would know more about Gabriel’s status after Thursday’s practice.
For a team in desperate need of a win, the Oklahoma Sooners would benefit greatly from having their starting quarterback back.
Oklahoma’s offense had no passing threat in the shutout loss to the Texas Longhorns or in the blowout loss to TCU after Gabriel went down. His ability to connect with [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] and the Sooners’ receivers provided a dynamic element to the offense and opened things up for the running game.
The charge for Oklahoma is finding a balance between playing uptempo football, being efficient offensively, and keeping a defense that’s allowed 48 points per game over the last three contests off the field.
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