Much was made about the performance of [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] during the 2022 season. Due to the close nature of every game in which he played a full four quarters, every throw was dissected and over-analyzed as the media and the fans looked for reasons for the Sooners’ failures.
Though some of the issues were legitimate, Dillon Gabriel played really good football in 2022. It wasn’t to the standard set by Oklahoma’s Heisman heritage quarterbacks, but it was a really good season. With Gabriel back in 2023, the Sooners don’t have to worry about the most important position on the team.
They know what they’re going to get out of Gabriel. In 38 games, Gabriel averaged 294.86 passing yards, 2.89 total touchdowns per game, and 0.52 interceptions per game. He’s going to help the Sooners put up a bunch of points in 2023. Now it’s up to the defense to keep teams from scoring 30 every game.
Gabriel landed in the “consistently very good” tier (4a) in ESPN’s rankings of every quarterback situation in the Football Bowl Subdivision (ESPN+).
The 2022 season was ugly for Oklahoma, but it’s hard to blame Gabriel. In six games vs. top-40 defenses (by defensive efficiency), he accounted for 16 touchdowns, just two turnovers, averaged 8.4 yards-per-pass and posted a Total QBR of 78.5. – David Hale, ESPN
Gabriel was grouped with Duke’s Riley Leonard, Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall, Kansas State’s Will Howard, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman, and Tulane’s Michael Pratt.
That feels about right. Gabriel ranked second in the Big 12 and 12th in the nation by College Sports Wire’s regional editor Patrick Conn. He’s not the best QB in the country, but certainly has the chance to be one of the best.
In every game in which Gabriel played a full four quarters, the Oklahoma Sooners had a chance to win. While they struggle to win close games due to red zone and third down efficiency, the reality is if the defense were just a little bit better, they probably win a few more games.
Gabriel came into a program in transition and played admirably. He’s got things he can improve upon, and he wasn’t perfect, but the offense was good enough for the Sooners to be an eight or nine-win team.
While there are questions along the offensive line and a bit of an unknown at WR2, Gabriel’s steady hand at the wheel will continue to help Oklahoma’s offense thrive in 2023.
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