Ad Disclosure
Dillon Gabriel confirms he spoke to Ohio State during recruitment, explains why he chose Oregon
Published:
Dillon Gabriel spoke about his recruiting process while meeting with reporters at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday.
The former Oklahoma quarterback confirmed Ohio State was one of the other programs he spoke to while he was in the portal. After a relatively short process, Gabriel ended up committing to Oregon last December following a visit to Eugene.
“I had conversations with 2 programs on top of Oregon,” Gabriel said. “I kind of just did my due diligence. But I think once I did go on that visit to Oregon and was able to see it and be at the facility, talk through things … I think it was one that I couldn’t pass up.”
Gabriel was asked specifically about his conversations with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.
“Shoot, it was good,” Gabriel said. “Throughout that process, it’s just gaining information on one another. I think the recruiting process is what it is. I think everyone that was a quarterback in the portal was able to have conversations with different schools.”
Gabriel ended up committing to Oregon on Dec. 9 — relatively early in the process. One factor in choosing the Ducks, Gabriel acknowledged, was that Day and Ohio State wanted to wait until later in the offseason before deciding on a transfer quarterback to replace Kyle McCord.
“Although there’s beauty in [transferring], new beginnings and all that, everyone knows the stress and a lot that comes with it,” Gabriel said. “Whether it’s the moving, the moving companies, moving in, there’s just a lot that comes with it. The faster you can make a decision and feel good about it, be decisive, it allows you to act accordingly.”
The Buckeyes ultimately ended up bringing in former Kansas State QB Will Howard. He didn’t commit to Ohio State until Jan. 4 — nearly a month after Gabriel made his decision official.
Time will tell if Ohio State’s decision to wait on the QB market will turn out to be a prudent choice. Howard and Gabriel will go head-to-head with their new teams on Oct. 12 in Eugene. Oregon is currently a 1.5-point favorite in that contest, according to the latest odds from FanDuel.
Gabriel is also currently the consensus favorite to win the Heisman Trophy in 2024. FanDuel has Gabriel at +700 to win the award while Howard is 4th in odds at +1400.
States: AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY Bet $5, Get $250 in OH and MA!
GET THE APPWant to learn more about sportsbooks in Ohio? Here’s Saturday Tradition’s breakdown of all the best OH betting apps on the market in 2024.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.