Dillon Gabriel playing with swagger heading into OU-Texas
On his first touchdown run Saturday, Dillon Gabriel trucked Iowa State safety Ben Nikkel, tossing him to the ground like a rag doll. And on his second touchdown run, he leaped through a pair of defenders and made sure Cyclone cornerback T.J. Tampa heard all about it, giving him an ear full in the end zone.
Running guys over and talking trash — when did Dillon Gabriel become Baker Mayfield?
Obviously, Gabriel is not Mayfield, or really anything close in terms of personality and play. But he has shown some moxie and fire this year that hasn’t always been there. He’s playing the best football of his career, playing with a swagger that is reminiscent of former great Oklahoma quarterbacks. That was evident Saturday in OU’s 50-20 win over Iowa State.
And that moxie, fire, swagger and confidence couldn’t come at a better time for Gabriel and OU, as they head to Dallas to face No. 3 Texas in the Red River Rivalry.
“He’s playing good in lots of ways,” head coach Brent Venables said. “He’s playing really good and leading with toughness. Dillon is in a much different place as a leader and his confidence, just being here. All things considered, there’s still 97 guys that are either in their first or second year here. He’s a new guy. The way he has continued to develop, worked, led and played — I’m really, really proud of him.”
Gabriel was efficient once again on Saturday. He finished 26-of-39 for 366 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran eight times for 37 yards and two touchdowns. Gabriel was especially good with his deep ball, completing a 39-yarder to Nic Anderson, a 54-yarder to Brenen Thompson and a 49-yarder to Jalil Farooq.
“Dillon’s as talented as anybody we’ve played against,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “And we’ve played against some good quarterbacks (at Oklahoma) and some great quarterbacks in this conference. But boy, I just feel like the veteran-ness for a guy who’s been in ths system now for a long time and really confident with his playmakers, really confident in the scheme — he played like an elite quarterback tonight.”
Gabriel has played at that level most of this season through five games. This year, Gabriel has thrown for 1,593 and 15 touchdowns with a 75.2 completion percentage, which all rank atop the Big 12. He’s on pace to finish his career top 10 in passing yards and touchdowns.
Gabriel has been a near-perfect balance of accurate, decisive and aggressive.
“He’s just incredibly confident with where he’s at inside the locker room, inside this building, inside this interlock at OU,” offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said. “I think that’s where his comfort level has grown dramatically. And it’s been great to see. He’s got to have a great week, got to have a great day tomorrow recovering, and getting back ready to roll.”
It’s hard for a quarterback to improve his skillset over the course of an offseason. Gabriel has seemingly done so. Though, it’s not necessarily that Gabriel has a stronger arm or is throwing a better ball. He’s just playing with a trust in himself that wasn’t always there a year ago.
And you can see that in everything he does, whether it’s running guys over in the end zone, taking shots down the field, or talking to the media postgame about the ups and downs of his career.
“As we all know, when things are good and going good, it’s easy to be good,” Gabriel said. “We’ve seen the road of both sides, at least I have in my journey. I think you’ve gotta take this journey as long as you can go and continue to have fun with it. I think towards the end of the year last year, I think a big thing in my head is continuing to have fun with this game. Although it was a rocky road, kinda going back to when you’re that little kid and just enjoying every second of it.
“I think I had lost it for a little bit, but when I flipped that switch and just started having fun, it allowed me to play free, have fun, play fast and then play with a free mind. I think that’s something that goes along with this whole journey. That’s something I’ll continue to do, kinda put that at the forefront of my offseason going into this year. So having fun is having a big part of doing it.”
It doesn’t get much more fun than the Cotton Bowl on the first Saturday in October. That’s the next big test for Gabriel. And he knows that.
What he’s accomplished through five games is great and should be celebrated. But if he can deliver a win next Saturday in Dallas — something he didn’t have a chance to do last year — his name will be etched in Sooner lore forever.
“That’s why you come here. That’s what you want to be in,” Gabriel said. “I know I’m the type of guy, and I love this place. It’s football, one of the most passionate fan bases. It’s one of the most passionate places about this program. I think I had a clue about it, but once I got into it, it really opened my eyes to how great this place is.”
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