Dillon Gabriel

Last updated

Dillon Gabriel
Dillon Gabriel.jpg
Gabriel in 2025 training camp
No. 8 – Cleveland Browns
Position Quarterback
Roster statusActive
Personal information
Born (2000-12-28) December 28, 2000 (age 24)
Mililani, Hawaii, U.S.
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school Mililani (HI)
College
NFL draft 2025: 3rd round, 94th overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
NCAA (FBS) records
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Dillon Gabriel (born December 28, 2000) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football for the UCF Knights and his next two with the Oklahoma Sooners. In his final college season in 2024, he was a member of the Oregon Ducks, earning first-team All-American honors and being named the Big Ten Most Valuable Player. Gabriel finished his college career with an FBS record 155 touchdown passes. He was selected by the Browns in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft.

Contents

Early life

Gabriel was born in Mililani, Hawaii, and named after Corey Dillon, to parents of Filipino and Native Hawaiian ancestry. [1] His father, Garrett Gabriel, played college football as a quarterback at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa from 1987 to 1990, and his mother, Dori Gabriel, played college softball at Loyola Marymount University. [2] [3] Gabriel attended Mililani High School in Mililani, Hawaii. As a senior in 2018, he was the Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year for Hawaii after passing for 3,754 yards and 38 touchdowns. [4] He finished his career with 9,948 passing yards and 105 touchdowns. Gabriel committed to play college football at the University of Central Florida (UCF). [5]

College career

UCF

Gabriel entered his first year at University of Central Florida in 2019 as the backup to Brandon Wimbush, but took over during the first game and started the final 12 games of the season as the Knights finished with a 10–3 record capping with a 48–25 victory [6] over Marshall at the Gasparilla Bowl. [7] [8] [9] [10] For the season, he completed 236 of 398 passes for 3,653 yards, 29 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. [11]

In his sophomore year, Gabriel led the Knights to a 6–4 record and an appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl completing 21 of 45 for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 49–23 loss. [12]

On September 17, 2021, in a regular season game against Louisville, Gabriel was injured on the final play of the game, a multi-lateral attempt at a miracle touchdown by the Knights. Gabriel was carted off the field and X-rays were taken of his shoulder after the game. He suffered a broken left clavicle that, despite not requiring surgery, ultimately ended his season early. [13]

On November 27, 2021, Gabriel announced via social media that he would be transferring from UCF. [14]

Gabriel with the Oregon Ducks in 2024 MBN S24G09 ORE-1 Dillon Gabriel (cropped).jpg
Gabriel with the Oregon Ducks in 2024

Oklahoma

On December 16, 2021, Gabriel originally announced he would transfer to UCLA. [15] However, less than three weeks later, Gabriel announced he would instead transfer to Oklahoma on January 3, 2022. [16]

On December 4, 2023, after two seasons with the Sooners, Gabriel announced that he would be leaving Oklahoma and again entering the NCAA transfer portal. [17]

Oregon

On December 9, 2023, Gabriel announced that he would be transferring to Oregon. [18] In his debut with the Ducks, he passed for 380 yards. He became the eighth college quarterback to surpass 15,000 passing yards. Gabriel is ranked second all time in career passing yards. [19]

College statistics

SeasonTeamGamesPassingRushing
GPGSRecordCmpAttPctYdsAvgTDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2019 UCF 13129–323639859.33,6539.2297156.971781.14
2020 UCF 10106–424841360.03,5708.6324156.3721692.32
2021 UCF 332–17010268.68148.093159.2241255.22
2022 Oklahoma 12126–623036762.73,1688.6256154.4893153.56
2023 Oklahoma 121210–226638469.33,6609.5306172.0933734.012
2024 Oregon 141413–132644772.93,8578.6306164.9751492.07
Career 646346–171,3762,11165.218,7228.915532160.94241,2092.933

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span
5 ft 11+1⁄8 in
(1.81 m)		205 lb
(93 kg)		29+5⁄8 in
(0.75 m)		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)
All values from NFL Combine [20] [21]

Cleveland Browns

Gabriel was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft, 94th overall, which the Browns previously acquired in a trade that sent Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills. [22] On October 1, 2025, he was named the Browns' starting quarterback, replacing Joe Flacco. [23]

Personal life

Gabriel has two brothers: the older, Garrison Gabriel, a former college volleyball player at Orange Coast College who is now Dillon's business manager, and the younger, Roman Gabriel, a college basketball player at Bushnell University named after Filipino-American NFL quarterback Roman Gabriel. [1] Gabriel proposed to his high school sweetheart, Zo Caswell, on September 1, 2024, the day after his debut at Oregon. [24] [25]

References

  1. 1 2 Shimabuku, Christian (April 18, 2025). "Roman Gabriel's basketball journey leads from Mililani to mainland". Aloha State Daily. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  2. ↑ Florino, Stephen (October 18, 2024). "Ducks QB Gabriel's dad starred at University of Hawaii". KHON2. Archived from the original on October 20, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  3. ↑ Rorabaugh, Dan (October 1, 2025). "Dillon Gabriel will be 3rd UCF quarterback to start in NFL. Is he Native Hawaiian?". Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  4. ↑ Hawes, Henry (January 7, 2019). "Dillon Gabriel Receives Gatorade Hawai'i Player of the Year Award". Trojan Times. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ Honda, Paul (December 19, 2018). "Dillon Gabriel calls UCF 'the best fit for me'". Hawaii Prep World. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  6. ↑ Patterson, Chip (December 23, 2019). "UCF vs. Marshall score: Knights cruise in Gasparilla Bowl victory over Thundering Herd". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ Layberger, Tom (September 18, 2019). "UCF's Dillon Gabriel Among True Freshman Quarterbacks Making An Early Impression". Forbes.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  8. ↑ Marks, Jon (October 30, 2019). "Mililani product Dillon Gabriel turns lessons from McKenzie Milton into results at UCF". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. ↑ Adelson, Andrea (December 23, 2019). "How McKenzie Milton paved the way for UCF, Dillon Gabriel to thrive". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  10. ↑ Staples, Andy (September 12, 2019). "Staples: The Hawaiian who is adding to UCF's status as a..." The Athletic. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  11. ↑ Murschel, Matt (February 27, 2020). "UCF QB coach: Dillon Gabriel working so hard Knights staff has to force him to rest". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  12. ↑ Patterson, Chip (December 23, 2020). "BYU vs. UCF, Boca Raton Bowl score: Cougars cap memorable 11–1 season with offensive explosion in easy win". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  13. ↑ Jackson, Wilton (September 18, 2021). "UCF's Dillon Gabriel Suffers Fractured Clavicle in Loss to Louisville". SI.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  14. ↑ Jackson, Wilton (November 27, 2021). "Dillon Gabriel Will Leave UCF, Enters Transfer Portal". SI.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ Backus, Will (December 16, 2021). "UCF transfer QB Dillon Gabriel announces commitment to UCLA". 247 Sports. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  16. ↑ Weinstein, Robbie (January 3, 2021). "UCF transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel flips from UCLA to Oklahoma". 247 Sports. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  17. ↑ Sweet, Randall (December 4, 2023). "Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel to Enter Transfer Portal". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ Martinez, Justin (December 9, 2023). "OU football transfer Dillon Gabriel commits to Oregon". The Oklahoman. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  19. ↑ Gallagher, Michael (September 1, 2024). "Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel Makes College Football History vs. Idaho". Athlon Sports. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  20. ↑ Reuter, Chad; Zierlein, Lance. "Dillon Gabriel Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Dillon Gabriel College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  22. ↑ Russo, Kelsey (April 26, 2025). "Browns select QB Dillon Gabriel with the No. 94 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft". Cleveland Browns. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  23. ↑ Russo, Kelsey (October 1, 2025). "Dillon Gabriel named starting quarterback ahead of Week 5". Cleveland Browns. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  24. ↑ Cleary, Olivia (September 11, 2024). "Oregon Ducks Quarterback Dillon Gabriel Gets Engaged". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  25. ↑ Greene, Brenna (December 30, 2024). "Zo Caswell and Dillon Gabriel: From middle school sweethearts to Rose Bowl". KOIN . Retrieved January 27, 2025.
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