QB Dillon Gabriel (10.3.25)
Dillon, how has this kind of, you know, just irregular week gone for you with the travel and the change and everything?
“Different, for sure. I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t, but, you know, for me there’s comfort there, being from Hawaii. There’s a lot of reminiscent of when we travel as a team together and we’d have six to eight hour flights to look forward to and just think, you know, our team prepared us for it. So, we’re extremely excited all together and now that we’re here, it’s a lot easier to settle in.”
Dillon, has Joel (Bitonio) told you that 21 starting quarterbacks is enough for him?
“He hasn’t told me that, but Joel’s a great dude and he’s, you know, he’s just a guy you look to and is very calming, has played a bunch of ball. So, you just have a lot of confidence when you see him in the huddle.”
How different has this week really been now that you guys are 48 hours out?
“You know, we try to make it as similar of a week as you can, and that’s just our process. And I felt like we have for, other than yesterday traveling in and maybe doing a walkthrough instead of a true practice and a jog through. But other than that, we tried to make it as similar as possible.”
Myles (Garrett) just said that you run this offense like it’s your own. And everybody that we’ve talked to over the past few days just keeps talking about your poise, your confidence. Can you sort of address how did you arrive at that point already as a rookie?
“Yeah, I think there’s so many similar moments in your lifetime. And although it’s different level, I think the feelings are the same, and I’ve gotten better each time I’ve felt that feeling and for me, I’ve just attacked it that way. There’s a lot of comfort in the scheme because, you know, that’s part of why they got me here is I’ve done it before, and I think the confidence in that is now you’re learning new personnel, new people, but you come together and have ultimate confidence in the whole concepts that we run.”
Dillon, has there been a different interaction for you with your teammates now that you’re the starter? What has that been like for you?
“Not necessarily. You know, I think I’ve always challenged myself to lead without status and I think it was a challenge early for me, because it was different, a role I’ve probably never been in. But I think that ultimately helped me to when now you do, you know, get the spot to roll with, you can just attack it the same way. So, it challenged me in that way. But now it’s probably just a little more talking in the huddle and more reps. But ultimately it’ll be good on Sunday when we get to go.”
Dillon, I’m assuming you probably had hundreds of messages from people this week. Are there one or maybe a handful that have been especially meaningful to you?
“Yeah, a couple. I think all the coaches that I have great relationships with and I don’t want to miss any. But, you know, my high school coach, Coach Rod (York), Coach Heup (Josh Heupel) from UCF, Coach (Alex) Golesh, who was my OC there as well, Coach (Jeff) Lebby, Coach (Will) Stein, Coach (Dan) Lanning. So, all those guys, you know, people you appreciate, and then also my family. But for the most part, too, it’s something that you prepare for and you’re ready for. So, it’s not a text of congratulations of some sort. It’s like, it’s your time to go show the world.”
Your folks will be here, right?
“They won’t be. So fun fact, need to get my dad a passport. So, we’re learning about that. Second, just a little later in the week. So, you know, mom and dad, is from Hawaii. You can imagine that flight is even further than what we just did.”
Going back to the experience you had, your college experience, obviously college and pro are two different things. That said, what you’ve seen defensively, that the various schemes, how much have you been able to kind of bring that along with you as you’re adjusting to what you’re seeing out of NFL defenses?
“I think it’s interesting because, in college sometimes, some may say the lack of personnel, they may have to add on to the scheme and do things that are unique to help in the run game and the pass game. I think in the NFL, obviously personnel is at all-time high, so there’s extreme confidence in maybe coverages that you’ve repped a bunch of times. But for this, I think, you take pride as an OC or DC, and the scheme that you have and you want to rep at a high level, ultimately you’re going to do what you’re playing players are good at. But, you know, as you continue to go up, it’s a lot about personnel and putting guys in the right place to go make their plays. So just understanding that and then understanding as a shell what they’re trying to do.”
Dillon, you took some really harsh criticism during training camp. You guys always say that you block out the noise. Did you truly block all of that out? Or did some of it seep in? And if so, did it actually fuel you?
“You know, for me, I’ve always lived by, like, I rather be uninformed than misinformed. And everyone has the right to their opinion, and I understand that. But instead of, I don’t necessarily block out the noise. I just choose not to be a part of it. And I think that’s just a singular focus, you know, and emotional regulation of there’s a job to do, and there’s something that you just want to focus on and do it at a high level. So that’s what I do. Like I said, I respect everyone’s opinion, and everyone, you know, can say whatever they want. That’s freedom of speech.”
Back in training camp, when there were four quarterbacks. Did you think you were going to be able to win this job this early into the season?
“You know, it wasn’t ever about winning a job. You know, it was just playing at my best, playing at a high level. I think when you continually do that and you’re focused on your game, that’ll naturally come, you know, and the one time you’re thinking about, you know, I gotta go win something, you. You just, you know, overreact or overdo rather than just serving the moment. And that’s what I’ve been about the whole time.”
Throughout this week as you’ve worked with Tommy Rees and kind of stepping into this role, how has helped you specifically?
“Yeah, I think just a bunch of conversations, you know, and I think there’s always a meeting prior to a meeting, you know, and being able to have those conversations prior so you can understand what we’re trying to do and do it at a high level. The more you see it, the more comfortable you are with it. And I said it last time, but the more turns you got at it, like Coach Mus (Bill Musgrave) says, like, just going to have a bunch of confidence, bunch of comfort there. So just trying to do that, whether it’s film, whether it’s walkthroughs, looking at a play call and being able to say the play and then go through the progression. So kind of a mixture of all that, but, you know, trying to do it as best as possible.”
Dillon, have you worked out how many people are going to be watching from Hawaii and do you know what time of day it’s going to be?
“I haven’t thought that far, but I would guess early in the morning. It is interesting. Like I’ve always been used to it when I was in Florida to Hawaii, like a six-hour difference. Texting family is a little different, but I really haven’t even looked into it. But it’s probably like double, right? 12 hours, 11. Yeah.”
How do you feel about your preparation, not the part about traveling and the team, but how do you feel since you were in the start of it with the prep?
“I take pride in it, you know, I think the preparation, you know, allows you to be confident on game day, you know, and really not even think about schematically what you’re trying to do. But it’s like you hear the formation, you already know the play call and I think that’s something that I’ve always took pride in from every level and I just continue to master that. You know, I’ve even had four weeks prior to this to master how we go through a week and for me it’s how do you fit in film in between there, you know, how do you fit in meals and as you could imagine, everything in between. And you know, I just continue to master it and don’t think I’ll ever stop.”
Can you just tell me how your first game as starter is going to be in London? Probably something that you never thought about.
“Yeah, never thought about. Obviously never happened. So there’s a first for everything. But like I learned from my first, there’s, you know, it ain’t ever going to be perfect but you know, the preparation is key and go out there and do what you do. But you know, we’re blessed, we’re grateful, you know, we play a beautiful game, we’ll be able to do it in front of new fans and I think that’s what football is all about. The diversity, the amount of people that love this game and are around it, like there’s beauty in that and you know, that’s what I’m most appreciative of.”
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