Following a whirlwind of news surrounding his former school and why he left Oklahoma, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel met with media Tuesday and offered comments about his departure from Norman after last season.
Gabriel, a sixth-year quarterback who spent two seasons at Oklahoma before sitting out its bowl game and ultimately transferring to Oregon, responded to comments by Sooners’ head coach Brent Venables that the veteran QB was not run out of Norman, as many suspected with five-star freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold waiting in the wings.
After Venables announced Arnold would be benched in favor of true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. following Oklahoma’s loss to Tennessee, he also clarified that Gabriel was not run out of Norman for Arnold at his weekly press conference.
Venables said that Gabriel ultimately wanted to play closer to home in Hawaii and was looking for a change of scenery after offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby left for Mississippi State.
“You can’t make a guy stay,” Venables said. “The guys is trying to find the next thing; the next chapter for him. I’m sure there was probably some disappointment that (Gabriel) wasn’t more highly thought of in the NFL. He had an amazing year. He was a fantastic quarterback. But we didn’t run anybody off or things like that.”
While Venables was explaining what happened at the end of last season during his weekly availability in Norman, Gabriel was practicing Tuesday morning in Eugene, and met with media directly after.
“Honestly it’s so far gone,” Gabriel said. “I just know God’s got me right where I need to be. I’ve got a smile on my face every day because I’m in Eugene, Oregon, around a bunch of great guys. Of course, those are guys that are my brothers for life and guys I’ve played with. Like I said, it’s people I still talk to on the team, players-wise. You focus on what you can control and that’s right where I’m at. Like I said, I’m happy. I know God put me right where I need to be and I think that’s all that needs to be said, honestly.”
Gabriel started his career at UCF in 2019 before transferring to Oklahoma and racking up 6,828 yards and 55 touchdowns across two seasons in Norman. Despite a productive year, he did not receive favorable NFL draft grades and opted to return to college for a sixth season.
According to Venables, Gabriel met with him before Oklahoma’s Alamo Bowl game against Arizona and told him he wouldn’t play in the game and was going to enter the transfer portal. Venables said that Gabriel cited the departure of offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby to Mississippi State and a desire to play closer to home as his reasons.
Gabriel has thrown for 914 yards and six touchdowns in three games for the undefeated Ducks this season.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon football’s Dillon Gabriel talks Oklahoma departure
