Welcome back to Parsons’ Profiles, the NFL Draft countdown series where I examine the professional future of one Duck per day until the 2025 NFL Draft begins on April 24. Yesterday, I discussed running back Jeffrey Bassa. Today, I’ll discuss how quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s historic college career might impact his professional prospects.

Following the NFL departure of quarterback Bo Nix, the Ducks had a roster spot and big shoes to fill in their first season in the Big Ten. Gabriel answered the call, bringing a long collegiate career out west from the University of Oklahoma to the University of Oregon for his final season. 

Thankfully for Gabriel, things clicked in Eugene almost immediately. Despite early scares against the University of Idaho and Boise State University, Gabriel rapidly found his groove. He finished the season with 326 completions on 447 attempts (72.9% completion rate) for 3,857 yards, all of which were career highs. He threw 30 touchdowns to only six interceptions and also scored seven rushing touchdowns.

Gabriel’s stats were good, but my favorite part about his time as a Duck was his propensity to complete important throws with the game on the line. The best example of that clutch factor came late in Oregon’s Week 12 win over Wisconsin.

The undefeated No. 1 Ducks were down 6-13 to begin the fourth quarter and faced 4th-and-9 at the Wisconsin 41-yard line. A Wisconsin stunt collapsed the pocket, forcing Gabriel to roll left and towards the line of scrimmage. 

While at nearly a dead run, Gabriel threw a laser beam directly into the hands of tight end Terrance Ferguson, who crouched between two outstretched Wisconsin defenders to convert the first down. Oregon would go on to win 16-13, complete an undefeated regular season and win the Big Ten Championship against Penn State.

As a result, Gabriel was showered with honors following his final season. He was named a first-team All-American, the Big Ten’s MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year.

Though his Ducks came up short in the College Football Playoff, Gabriel’s fantastic 2024 campaign was a fitting end to a fantastic career which spanned six seasons and three conferences. Despite all the change, Gabriel succeeded everywhere he went.

Gabriel was born and raised in Mililani on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. He attended Mililani High School, where as a 5’11, 186-pound senior he was named Hawaii’s Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year.

Though Gabriel totalled 9,948 passing yards and 105 touchdowns at Mililani, 247Sports Composite ranked him a three-star prospect, only the 754th-best player in the 2019 class. In June 2018, he committed to play for West Point’s Army Black Knights.

Then, in November, he took an official visit to the University of Central Florida (UCF), where his Mililani predecessor McKenzie Milton had taken the reins. A day after his visit, Gabriel decommited from Army and reopened his recruitment. Less than a month later, Milton suffered a devastating knee injury which would end his playing career.

Gabriel ultimately earned eight college offers, and took visits with two blue-blood programs in USC and the University of Georgia in Dec. 2018. However, the thought of an open competition at UCF was enticing.

“At the time, I just wanted to play,” Dillon Gabriel said on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast regarding his decision to choose UCF. “I’ve always put that at the forefront of what I want to do. I want to go play the game. That’s what I love to do.” 

On Dec. 19, 2018, four days after visiting Georgia, Gabriel committed to UCF. He began as the Golden Knights’ second-string quarterback behind redshirt senior and Notre Dame transfer Brandon Wimbush.

Wimbush performed adequately (12/23, 168 yards, two touchdowns, 142.2 passer rating) in the team’s blowout opener against Florida A&M University, but felt lingering soreness in his shoulder, allowing Gabriel to see action. The true freshman arguably outperformed Wimbush, going 9/13 for 176 yards, three touchdowns and a vastly superior passer rating. of 227.4.

When the same soreness sidelined Wimbush for Week 2, Gabriel took over and didn’t look back. He led UCF to a 10-3 record, a No. 24 national ranking and a 48-25 win over Marshall University in the Gasparilla Bowl. 

The Golden Knights’ 2019 offense finished second in the nation in total yards per game with 540.5 and eighth in passing with 316.7. Gabriel finished 236/398 (59.3% completion rate) with 3,653 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

With Milton acting as his mentor, Gabriel started for UCF again in 2020. Although the team played only 10 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gabriel earned second-team All-AAC honors after he posted proportionally better numbers: 248 completions on 418 attempts (60%) for 3,570 yards, 32 touchdowns and four interceptions. The Golden Knights finished 6-4.

Gabriel’s college career hit its first real speedbump in Sep. 2021. The junior broke his left clavicle while attempting a futile series of laterals on the last play of UCF’s Week 3 loss to the University of Louisville. 

The injury ended Gabriel’s season but did allow him a medical redshirt. Because the shortened 2020 season didn’t impact athletic eligibility, the medical redshirt ultimately extended Gabriel’s eligibility to 2024.

With as many as three years of football ahead of him, Gabriel decided to transfer from UCF in Nov. 2021. He initially committed to UCLA in December, but a variety of factors caused him to transfer once again in January. 

“When I was transferring, I visited Ole Miss where my prior (offensive coordinator) Coach Lebby was at,” Gabriel said to On3. Lebby was both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UCF in 2019. “After that visit, I felt like I was going to go to Ole Miss, but Coach Lebby ended up going to Oklahoma.”

Gabriel’s decision may also have been aided by the roster hole Oklahoma had at quarterback. Former Sooners passer and eventual 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams transferred to USC on the morning of Jan. 3, 2022. That same afternoon, Gabriel transferred to Oklahoma. 

Gabriel would spend the next two seasons as a Sooner. His 2022 numbers (230/367, 3,168 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions) were fairly similar to his UCF days, but Gabriel also added career highs in rushing yards (336) and rushing touchdowns (six). Despite Oklahoma’s 6-6 record, Gabriel performed well enough to earn second-team All-Big 12 honors.

Gabriel elevated his game in 2023. His statline (266/384, 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, 6 interceptions) resulted in a career-high passer rating of 172.0. Gabriel also bettered his rushing totals, finishing with 373 yards and 12 touchdowns. As a result, Gabriel earned first-team All-Big-12 honors.

In Dec. 2023, with one year of eligibility remaining, Gabriel again decided to transfer. Though Lebby left for a head coaching gig with Mississippi State University, Gabriel decided to transfer to Oregon. 

Eugene being closer to Mililani was a major factor, but Gabriel was also drawn in by the program’s recent success and its many returning players. He referred to the choice as “a no-brainer” following the switch.

Gabriel finished his collegiate career as the all-time FBS leader in touchdowns (189) and games started (63). Gabriel also tied Case Keenum for the all-time passing touchdowns mark (155) and fell less than 500 yards short of Keenum’s 19,217 career passing yards.

So why isn’t Gabriel being looked at as one of the top passers in this class?

For starters, he’s 24 years old and will turn 25 before next season’s NFL Playoffs begin in Jan. 2026. Teams want their quarterbacks of the future to be as young as possible in order to maximize their time together, and Gabriel is already older than five NFL starters, including Williams.

But more importantly, Gabriel doesn’t have the height or elite arm strength required to be a true pocket passer. While he’s reasonably mobile and can score on the ground, I wouldn’t call him a game-breaking athlete, either.

Therefore, Gabriel likely wouldn’t succeed in every professional offense. He’d thrive most in an offense like Oregon’s, a spread system which relied on making rapid reads and getting the ball out to open space as quickly as possible.

Several teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos, run similar offenses at the highest level. The Broncos specifically targeted Nix in last year’s draft for his ability to run such an offense. Unfortunately for Gabriel, those teams seem to have already found their franchise quarterbacks.

Gabriel has already moved from backup to starter at UCF, and successfully adapted to two new programs during his transfers to Oklahoma and Oregon. He won’t be drafted as a starter, or even labelled a future starter, but Gabriel’s proven an ability to capitalize on opportunity.

Gabriel’s got his fair share of believers, too. Milton recently called Gabriel the “Best QB in the draft” on X, and CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards included him on a list of this year’s most underrated prospects.

I expect Gabriel to be a Day 3 pick selected between the fifth and seventh rounds, and I expect his consistency and experience to make him a solid backup option for years to come. He won’t be the guy to elevate a team to new heights, but coaches should feel comfortable asking Gabriel to step up when he’s needed.

Tomorrow, Parsons’ Profiles will focus on a transfer Duck who’s been subject to significant media attention since playing his final game at Oregon.