Mike Norvell calls Dillon Gabriel 'an unbelievable competitor'

The Cheez-It Bowl will feature two traditional powers in college football, Florida State and Oklahoma. For the Sooners, it’s been a frustrating season. However, for Mike Norvell and Florida State, this season was proof of the team’s rebuild, making its first bowl game under Norvell.

Still, Oklahoma has tons of talent, especially at quarterback, where Dillon Gabriel is an excellent competitor.

“When you watch film, you see an unbelievable competitor,” Mike Norvell said. “Dillon is special in so many ways, just the play-making ability. He can make so many throws on the field. He is athletic. He evades challenging situations, and is able to extend plays. He is a great playmaker.”

Mike Norvell emphasized that Dillon Gabriel is going to be a massive challenge for the Seminoles’ defense. He’s not alone, though, as Oklahoma has tons of weapons on the outside.

“It is going to be a great challenge for our defense, and being able to try to make him uncomfortable, to be able to try to get him off-rhythm. Even in that, some of the best plays that show up are when he is in those situations,” Mike Norvell continued.

“They have a very talented receiving core. This is a very explosive offense, and you have seen that against a variety of different defenses where they have been able to produce and produce at a very high level. Dillon is a wonderful player, and it is going to be a great challenge for us.”

While at UCF, Dillon Gabriel was a three-year starter. However, due to a collarbone injury, he missed most of his third season before transferring to Oklahoma. At UCF, he is fifth all-time in career passing yards and touchdowns. This season, for Oklahoma, he threw for 2,925 yards and 24 touchdowns. He ran for an additional 300 yards and five touchdowns.

The Cheez-It Bowl will be played on Thursday, December 29th in Orlando, Florida.

Dillon Gabriel on Florida State’s defense

Dillon Gabriel took the time to praise the Florida State defense too. In particular, he praised Tatum Bethune, who he played with while they were at UCF.

“Yeah, really talented. Just a lot of good players and they play very well,” Dillon Gabriel said.

“Pretty familiar with my guy Tatum. So, good to see him again, but just, like I said, lot of talented guys and they played really well this whole season.”