Why did Dillon Gabriel transfer to Oklahoma from UCF? Explaining OU football QB's decision

Dillon Gabriel surely thought he'd never have to face UCF after leaving the program and transferring to Oklahoma. But with the state of conference realignment in college football, the rematch will become reality on Saturday.

Gabriel and the No. 7 Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) face the Knights (3-3, 0-3) for the first and last time as Big 12 opponents. This season marks the first with Big 12 newcomers UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati and the last for OU and Texas: Both programs move to the SEC next season.

More: How Dillon Gabriel's family is making every OU football game 'like a Thanksgiving'

Gabriel is firmly in the Heisman Trophy race in his second season with Oklahoma, as he has passed for 1,878 yards and 16 touchdowns with only two interceptions this season. Gabriel also has 208 rushing yards with five TDs in 2023.

Here's everything you need to know about why Gabriel transferred to Oklahoma from UCF:

Why did Dillon Gabriel transfer to Oklahoma?

Gabriel transferred to Oklahoma to not only appear on one of college football’s biggest stages — a significant step above UCF — but also because of his strong relationship with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby.

Lebby recruited Gabriel to Orlando, serving as quarterbacks coach for UCF in 2018 and offensive coordinator in 2019. Lebby then coached at Ole Miss from 2020-21 before now-OU coach Brent Venables hired Lebby, who played for the Sooners, to Norman ahead of the 2022 season.

Gabriel committed to UCLA out of the transfer portal until then-OU quarterback and future Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams entered the portal and followed Lincoln Riley to Southern Cal.

On the same day Gabriel committed to Oklahoma on Jan. 3, 2022, he was scheduled to attend an online course at UCLA, thereby starting his clock at his new school and making him ineligible for a calendar year if he chose to transfer again.

“We got tipped off on (Caleb Williams entering the transfer portal) probably 48 hours before it happened,” Lebby told reporters Feb. 2, 2022. “And I was able to have a conversation with Dillon. Dillon was supposed to start school Jan. 3, it was an online course at UCLA and if he would’ve started class, then Dillon would’ve been ineligible for us for a calendar year. So it would’ve locked him into UCLA.”

More: Five things to know about OU Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel

Gabriel’s trust in Lebby was a huge factor.

“It goes way back,” Gabriel told reporters of his relationship with Lebby in early 2022. “And, you know, just from a trust standpoint, really trust him. Love playing in his offense. The way he’s able to strategically use people and put them in good positions to go play and win a lot of ball games while scoring a lot of points.

“So (that’s) something I really love about it, but most of all, I just love how he continues to push me to get to levels I didn't think I had, and that's obviously why we're back together.”

Why did Dillon Gabriel transfer from UCF?

Gabriel wanted to prove his skills in the Power Five after starring in the Group of Five.

Gabriel became one of the most prolific passers in the country in the American Athletic Conference with UCF. And after throwing for 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns in three seasons with the Knights, Gabriel decided to make the move to prove himself against better competition.

After leading a last-second touchdown drive to beat then-No. 4 Texas 34-30 on Oct. 7, Gabriel offered some insight into his transfer decision.

“This is what OU football is all about,” he told ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe after the game. “This is why I came here, this game.”

Gabriel’s Heisman Trophy odds shot up after defeating the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry. The fifth-year senior passed for 285 yards and a touchdown while running for 113 yards and a score in what was undoubtedly the biggest win of his career so far.

The transfer portal has allowed players with minimal playing time to make the move from, for example, Power Five to the Group of Five. But for some like Gabriel, balling out makes some coveted assets.

In the 2022 transfer portal class, 247Sports ranked Gabriel as the No. 6 quarterback and No. 25 overall player in the portal. He was ranked behind national stars like Caleb Williams and Quinn Ewers, and ahead of now-Texas A&M starter Max Johnson and LSU standout Jayden Daniels.

Gabriel was a three-star recruit and only the 754th-ranked player of the 2019 class out of high school, but his play improved his status to four-star level as a transfer. He was originally committed to Army before UCF recruited him late in his senior year of high school.

More: 'He was fearless': How Dillon Gabriel etched name into OU football lore by beating Texas

Dillon Gabriel Oklahoma stats

Dillon Gabriel UCF stats

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why did Dillon Gabriel transfer to Oklahoma from UCF?