QB Dillon Gabriel (8.5.26)
QB Dillon Gabriel
8-5-26
I asked Todd the other day about you stacking so many good days together, what that might do for you and he said you’re earning more reps. How do you feel about getting more reps and having more of a chance?
“Yeah, I think it just depends if you’re in the two spot or the one spot one day. But mastering what I can and the reps I do get, and then continuing to improve, that’s always been what it’s about.”
You talked back in April about running your own race. Where did that mindset sort of come from? How much has that drawn from your own college experiences, which you kind of went through at UCF and Oklahoma. Can you expand on that?
“I’ve always done it. Maybe I verbalized it like that that day, but I’m always just worried about what I’ve got to do to be at my best. I’ve had a lot of good reps at that, so I’m just trying to continue that.”
Does this camp feel any different for you than a year ago?
“Yeah, you’re not a rookie anymore, so you know what to expect, know how to go by your routine and make it better. So, day to day, just a lot easier, and knowing when to put what time and energy into.”
Did you at all feel disrespected being omitted from the starting competition by the new coach?
“Never disrespected. I don’t take things personally, it’s a business. I’m focused on what I need to do to get better, and that’s all I’m focused on. I’m present with that.”
I know all the focus has been on Shedeur (Sanders) and Deshaun (Watson), but do you feel like getting more reps gives you a chance to win the starting job?
“I’m really just focused on mastering my reps. I really appreciate Danny Bryer and James Cook. James Cook and Demetric Felton are big on walkthroughs in the morning, which helps set me up for a good day. And afterwards with Danny Bryer, a guy I’ve really leaned on, getting coached up — three or five reps, talking through it as best I can and improving. And same with Coach (Matt) Baker, he’s been really good for me.”
Are you comfortable in your new number?
“Yeah, I don’t really care about numbers. My freshman year in high school, I remember I got pulled up to varsity wearing 96.”
You don’t have an attachment to numbers?
“No, no attachment to any numbers. There may be some cool things to certain numbers that everyone tells themselves once they get a new number, but for the most part it’s just a number.”
Did you feel like maybe you were heading toward 96 with all the single digits taken up?
“I let my boy Kory (Gillissie) handle that, but yeah, whatever.”
It’s only been six days in this new offense, but what do you think the state of the offense is?
“Like you said, six days — it’s hard to tell, it’s very early. I think as we get into it, it’ll be interesting. But for an older coach, it’s pretty cool to see Coach (Todd) Monken be open to creativity and flexible that way. I think sometimes you can get the label as an old coach that you’re stuck in your ways, but he’s been very adaptive. I would just say he’s very creative.”
Do you think fans will be able to see a visual difference?
“We hope so.”
Are you moving out of the pocket more than normal?
“I’m not sure, I’ve got to see the percentages. We’ll look at the percentages.”
On the front more every day, going right and left?
“I think there’s just benefits to moving the pocket, obviously it helps up front, and then depending on what groups you’re going with and what you’re working on. But for the most part, I think everyone has some sort of move in the pocket for each install. It just so happens I get those reps.”
Dillon, so far, early in camp it’s felt very competitive, offense versus defense, Todd said it’s been fun and at the level you want. What have you gotten from the looks the defense has given you, the plays they’ve made across offense. What have you gained from this so far?
“Schematically different because of Rudy (Mike Rutenberg), but with anything, I think that’s good for us — the more you see, the better, and it’s challenging. So a bunch of different coverages. I won’t even get into that, but yeah, a lot of different things.”
So, there have been 11 interceptions in six practices and team periods. Is that a result of the disguises as much as anything, do you think?
“I think it’s just competitive. You play a lot of plays, s***’s going to happen — you’ve got to adjust. You try to emphasize not turning the ball over, but guys are playing football and things are happening.”
It’s only been six days, but do you feel more comfortable in this system and where you’re at now versus last year? I know you said you’re more comfortable because you’re not a rookie anymore.
“Yeah. Year two, you know what to expect and what to keep emphasizing, what to put your time and energy into and to not. In year two you’re able to attack it different, plus you have a full offseason — just being able to study the plays throughout the spring and then even in the summer. I feel a lot more prepared than last year, obviously.”
Todd Monken was talking about how quarterback control is important in his offense, and line of scrimmage operation and all that stuff. He cited the fact that you’ve been in so many different schemes and had to learn so many things. Do you feel like you’re picking it up well?
“I don’t think picking up an offense has ever been a problem for me. I think conceptually, if you see it, a lot of people are on the same s***, it’s just how you call it and how you get to things. In man versus zone, or a two-high one-high, do you want an all-call where you can play it split field in one play, or do you want to get to a premier play where there’s multiple winners against a certain coverage? I think I take that kind of attitude toward it, plus my time with Coach (Dan) Lanning — whatever that Georgia tree is — and Coach Monken being there, I think there’s some similarities. Even in practice and how we’ve seen our offense, it’s kind of similar to Oregon.”
You hear about pitchers working on different pitches in spring training, golfers in the offseason. Is there something you’ve tried to work on this offseason or this training camp that maybe kind of adds to or change about your own game?
“Offseason I just attacked it how I did. I feel really good about it. I know what I need to do to be at my best, and I felt like I had a full offseason this year and yeah hopefully it comes to life.”
Have you been through enough throughout your college career and even your pro career to know that if you just do your part, anything can happen?
“Kind of open-ended, honestly. Whether you have the most experience in college and then get to the NFL, there’s still an adjustment period. I learned a lot obviously last year, but I think it’s all helping myself this year and learning from it, watching all that and going back through it. But then even going into this year, you can better prepare and get better from what you put on tape.”
Your approach is different now, but when you look back on last year and just how you were thrown into the fire with starting in the London game and everything that happened. What do you think you took away from that that can make you a better quarterback?
“I’ve been thrown into the fire before, so it’s not new. In high school as a freshman, I started on varsity and got thrown into the fire. In college I wasn’t the starter week one, and then week two somehow, I was the starter. And here as well, week five, we’re rolling. But that’s all in the past. I’m just focused on right now, I’m in a good spot mentally, and like I said, I know what I need to do to be at my best and then we ball.”
Did you get married? How’s it going so far?
“It’s solid. It’s just like any new chapter, there are things that come new, but it’s fun. The one thing I will say about weddings is everyone comes together who was in different time periods of your life, so you get kind of reminiscent of all the different things. But it was good fun, a lot of fun.”
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