Brent Venables took time out of his weekly press conference on Tuesday to open up about what transpired between him and Dillon Gabriel at the end of the 2023 season.
Venables had a meeting with Gabriel prior to the Alamo Bowl where the Sooners’ then-starting quarterback told his coach he wouldn’t be playing in the bowl game.
“I had already caught wind of (his decision) and he knew some other guys on the offensive line (were opting out), and I did not know at that time that he wasn’t going to go to the NFL,” Venables said. “I had a great conversation with him, I was disappointed that he wasn't going to go play in the bowl game. But with the circumstances of (offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby) leaving, thought he wanted to get closer to home, to Hawaii.
“I didn’t even know I had to fight this fight. I didn’t realize that you were even considering coming back. And he said, ‘Yeah, but I just really want to get closer to home.’”
“We hugged and shook hands, he was a little emotional and so was I, but it was all really good and positive.”
Gabriel spent two seasons with the Sooners before transferring to Oregon. He threw for over 3,000 yards and over 25 touchdowns each year and led the Sooners to a 10-2 regular season record in 2023. He has thrown for 914 yards and six touchdowns in three games with the Ducks.
With the struggles Oklahoma has seen at quarterback through four games in 2024, many have begun to question why the Sooners didn't keep Gabriel for another season. Gabriel's backup last year, sophomore and former five-star prospect Jackson Arnold, was benched against Tennessee for Michael Hawkins Jr., who will start against Auburn on Saturday.
Venables expressed that he didn’t want to force Gabriel to stay.
“Make a guy stay, the guy is trying to find the next thing, the next chapter for him," Venables said. "I’m sure there was probably some disappointment that he wasn’t more highly thought of in the NFL, he had an amazing year and is a fantastic quarterback. But nobody was running nobody off or anything like that … I did want to make sure I cleared that up.”
