Last year, Dillon Gabriel set a UCF freshman record 3,653 passing yards and 20 touchdowns en route to a 9-3 record and then added a win in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl over Marshall.
Entering his second year as the starting quarterback, Gabriel feels he has grown, “I think all around, I’m more comfortable,” Gabriel said. “I think being around the guys for a year-and-a-half, I feel good playing together and feeling out the receivers.” (Via Orlando Sentinel)
Spring workouts were cut short this year because of the coronavirus so DG ended up going back to his hometown of Mililani, Hawaii and committed to 8a Zoom meetings with new QB coach Joey Halzle. Halzle said that their discussions focused on the why, such as, why defenses structure themselves the way they do and why teams defend UCF the way they do compared to other teams.
Halzle said that everything Gabriel has learned in the classroom has carried over into practice. Halzle says that DG is earlier on his passes and not trying to force the ball. "It's very exciting to watch."
The Knights open their season on the road at Georgia Tech, which is where a lot of the sophomore's struggles occurred last season. In UCF's 3 losses (all road games) against Pitt, Cincinnati, and Tulsa, Gabriel was 73-126 (57.9%) for 925 yards, 4 TDs and 7 INTs.
UCF this year has 5 road games: Georgia Tech, ECU, Memphis, Houston, and USF.
PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES