What should Oregon fans expect as Dillon Gabriel takes over for Bo Nix?

With Dillon Gabriel taking over for Bo Nix at Oregon, here’s what the Solid Verbal’s Dan Rubenstein thinks Duck fans should expect in 2024.

Oregon Duck fans have had a couple of great year offensively, getting the chance to watch quarterback Bo Nix resurrect his career in Eugene and lead one of the best offenses in the nation since transferring over from Auburn.

In 2023, Nix was one of the best QBs in the nation, finishing as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and he is now expected to be one of the top quarterbacks selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.

So for the Ducks going forward, how will the transition be going from Nix to incoming Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel? The veteran has had a lot of success in his five years of college football, but will he be able to meet the high expectations of Oregon fans who have been spoiled with the most accurate QB in college history over the last two years?

That’s a question that I asked Dan Rubenstein, the co-host of the Solid Verbal Podcast this week on the latest episode of the Sco-ing Long Podcast.

“Dillon Gabriel is accurate, he’s unafraid to go downfield,” said Rubenstein, an Oregon alum. “He does not have the arm that Bo Nix has, and that is to be seen in terms of what the architecture of this offense is with both Dillon Gabriel’s strengths and weaknesses. He is enthusiastic about running when it’s there, but I don’t think he forces the issue.”

Things are set up well for Gabriel, who will have top-ranked talent around him both at the RB spot and out at the WR spots, while his offensive line returns several pieces from a unit in 2023 that was among the best in the nation.

With all of those things put together, the stage is set for Gabriel to be everything that Oregon fans hope he can be, and more.

“I don’t think he’s going to be asked to do all that much athletically,” Rubenstein said. “I think Oregon’s offensive balance is going to be at a point where I don’t think his job is going to be terribly difficult in terms of having to do everything himself. If the play call is right, and the offensive line is where it should continue to be, I think he has one of the easier jobs in the sport. I think he’s capable of winning the Big Ten and taking this team to the playoff.”

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