Big 12 Football: 4 potential transfer destinations for OU QB Dillon Gabriel

Mississippi State

Probably the most logical landing spot for Gabriel out of the portal this offseason would be with Lebby and Mississippi State in the SEC. It’s not uncommon in recent years to see a quarterback follow their offensive coordinator in the system they’re familiar with.

Lebby was the offensive coordinator at UCF who recruited Gabriel to the Knights out of high school in the 2019 class. Gabriel played for Lebby and the Knights for three seasons and under two different head coaches (Gus Malzahn in 2021 and Josh Heupel in 2019 and 2020).

Once Lebby left UCF to join Venables at Oklahoma following the conclusion of the 2021 season, Gabriel joined him in Norman via the transfer portal. Gabriel was the starting quarterback for the Sooners, with Lebby as his offensive coordinator in the last two seasons.

Given that Gabriel has essentially followed Lebby at every stop during his collegiate career, it makes the most sense that he would go to Starkville now that he is getting his first Power Five head coaching job at Mississippi State.

The Mississippi State quarterback room lacks a true starter heading into the offseason after the three-year starter and senior Will Rogers entered the portal last month as a grad transfer.

Slotting Gabriel as the starter next season would make sense from multiple angles for Lebby and Mississippi State. It’s noteworthy that while Oklahoma is moving to the SEC in 2024, Mississippi State isn’t on the Sooners’ regular season schedule.

Mississippi State is probably the odds-on favorite to land Gabriel’s commitment via the portal if I were to bet right now.