Venables: Oklahoma didn't run Gabriel off after 2023 season
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables addressed former Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel's decision to leave his program after the 2023 season.
"You can't make a guy stay," Venables said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Eli Lederman. "The guy 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."
Gabriel spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons at Oklahoma, where he passed for 6,828 yards and 55 touchdowns. After leading the Sooners to a 10-2 record, Gabriel set his sights on achieving his NFL dreams. But evaluators didn't grade him favorably, which influenced his decision to return to the collegiate stage for a sixth year.
The Hawaiian informed Venables after the school's regular-season finale that he'd enter the transfer portal and opt out of the Alamo Bowl following the departure of offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. Gabriel also expressed a desire to play closer to home.
"I did not know at that time that he wasn't going to go to the NFL," Venables said. "I didn't even know I had to fight this fight."
Gabriel transferred to Oregon to play out his sixth season after beginning his collegiate career at UCF in 2019. He's passed for 941 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions through three games on the West Coast.
Jackson Arnold, the 2022-2023 Gatorade Player of the Year, was expected to be the Sooners' solution under center after starting in Gabriel's place at the Alamo Bowl. Arnold started the first four games of his sophomore campaign but was benched after committing three turnovers in the Sooners' 25-15 loss to Tennessee.
Venables named freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. the starting quarterback ahead of Saturday's contest against Auburn. Hawkins completed 11 of 18 attempts for 132 yards and a touchdown in relief of Arnold last weekend.
Oklahoma's sideline boss spoke with Arnold about giving the team "a better chance moving forward" and expressed his continued belief in the sophomore's talents.
"I expressed to Jackson that this is a moment," Venables said. "Jackson's going to have an amazing future and career. He's going to play this game (for) a long time. All of that will work itself out in due time."