UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel will be held to high expectations going into the 2021-22 season.
The junior QB has received high praise from college football analysts this offseason. Gabriel will have some new talented weapons to throw the ball to this upcoming season.
Throughout the duration of the 2021 offseason, Pro Football Focus has published several lists on social media, ranking players based on statistics from the 2020-21 college football season.
PFF tweeted its list of “Top-5 QBs returning in college football” on Wednesday and listed Gabriel as the No. 4 in the ranking.
The site published its top-five list of “Most valuable QBs returning next season” on Saturday and Gabriel landed the No. 2 spot on the list.
Gabriel has even been considered as a player to watch for in Athlon Sports‘ 2021 Heisman Trophy Award watch list.
The Knights’ QB is coming off a 2020-21 season where he finished within the nation’s top five in total passing. Gabriel’s 3,570 total passing yards on the year was the fifth most in the country. His 32 passing touchdowns were the nation’s fourth-most.
The junior quarterback was the leader of a 2020 UCF offense which finished second in the nation in total offense with an average of 568.1 total yards per game. The Knights’ 42.2 points per game was ranked No. 8 in the nation.
Gabriel will be losing three of his top five receiving targets from the 2020-21 season – Marlon Williams, Jacob Harris, and Tre Nixon. The QB will have an abundance of talented receiving options to throw to this upcoming year.
Current Knights receivers sophomores Jaylon Robinson and Ryan O’Keefe will both be returning to UCF for their junior seasons. Robinson finished second on the team with 979 receiving yards last season. The sophomore recorded six touchdowns for the Knights.
O’Keefe’s 391 receiving yards was the fourth-most for UCF. He also tallied three touchdowns for the Knights.
Gabriel will have some incoming receiving threats for the 2021-22 season with four-star recruit from Hawaii, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, who committed to play for the Knights back in late January. Mokiao-Atimalala was recently titled the 2020-21 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Hawaii.
The Knights also received a commitment from Notre Dame transfer receiver Jordan Johnson. Although Johnson didn’t produce much during his lone season with the Fighting Irish, the receiver was rated as a four-star recruit coming out of high school and was ranked the No. 37 overall player in the nation for the class of 2020.
Gabriel will be playing under new leadership next season, as former Auburn Tigers’ coach Gus Malzahn was named the new head coach for the Knights this offseason.
The QB is looking forward to playing under Coach Malzahn and believes he fits what Malzahn is looking to do with the Knights’ offense.
“I feel like I’m a good fit because I’m different from every other quarterback he’s coached. I’m able to do a lot of things that he hasn’t been able to do in the past. That’s something we’re both excited about. It’s going to be fun that first day running out of that tunnel together.”
Gabriel to Spectrum News
Gabriel will look to play up to his high expectations, as the Knights are set to open up the 2021-22 season on Sep. 4 against Boise State at the Bounce House.
