The Sooners have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows thanks to the NCAA’s transfer portal. The 2022 cycle of transfers has seen Oklahoma go through a major roster shift that usually comes when programs are broken or being rebuilt. That doesn’t describe the Sooners but they lost a head coach and had a mass exodus of players to the transfer portal or the NFL draft.
Enter Brent Venables and a new offensive coordinator in Jeff Lebby and an entirely new defensive staff. The Sooners’ new offensive coordinator immediately got to work trying to sell star freshman Caleb Williams on his offensive system. Williams wasn’t sold and decided to test his options in the transfer portal.
College Football News ranked the quarterbacks that entered the transfer portal this cycle and multiple quarterbacks with connections to Oklahoma landed on the list.
Dillon Gabriel, the now undisputed starter in Norman and transfer from UCF landed at number seven. At number one sits Caleb Williams, who opted to follow Lincoln Riley to USC and will presumably be the starter there. Behind Williams, sits Quinn Ewers, the former number one quarterback in the 2021 class. Kedon Slovis, JT Daniels, Max Johnson round out the top five. Jaxson Dart, who was thought to be a possible acquisition for Oklahoma sits at sixth. He ultimately landed at Ole Miss. Behind Gabriel at seventh, is former Oklahoma starting QB Spencer Rattler who heads to South Carolina to be coached by former Oklahoma tight ends coach Shane Beamer.
While the Sooners would have loved to land Dart, if for nothing else for depth and a real quarterback competition, they can’t be too upset with the starter they have in Gabriel. He brings experience, a wealth of knowledge, an understanding of Lebby’s offensive system thanks to their time together at UCF.
Gabriel will enter the winter and spring practice as the unquestioned starter for Oklahoma and provides stability at a position that saw two different quarterbacks start 5 games last year. Behind Gabriel will sit freshman QB Nick Evers and walk-on Ralph Rucker.
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