Dillon Gabriel shares how offensive plan changes with opt outs

Now that players can transfer or opt out and focus on the NFL Draft instead of playing in their bowl games, many are taking the opportunity to do so. Which means that the rosters of these bowl teams are quite decimated by the time the games are actually played. Oklahoma is no exception, where a number of veterans are sitting out with their sights set on the pros, another few players are injured, and a whole other group has transferred away. It’ll be a thin group for Brent Venables in the Cheez-It Bowl.

But starting Sooner quarterback Dillon Gabriel doesn’t mind. He’ll be playing and is eager to see how some of the program’s younger guys perform on a bigger stage, especially on the offensive end. He was actually asked this week about all the roster shakeups and how the team is handling them going into their 2022 finale.

“It’s different,” Dillon Gabriel admitted. “But I think it’s also a big opportunity for new guys and what they’re going to be able to showcase and what they do. We truly have Next Man Up mentality, so just being ready for that and letting them, you know, seize the opportunity.”

As every college football player will tell you, it’s always whoever’s up next on the depth chart to step up. Of course, Oklahoma’s QB1 has full confidence in the reserves.

Brent Venables offers injury update ahead of bowl game

Before Oklahoma faces No. 13 Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl, Sooners’ head coach Brent Venables gave injury updates for two of his key players. Venables was asked about the status of running back Marcus Major and offensive lineman Andrew Raym, two players that had been battling injuries in the final stretch of Oklahoma’s regular season.

“You just named two of them that won’t play. Other than that, we feel the guys that traveled down here are with us. We haven’t had any injuries, so everybody else will be full tilt,” Venables said.

Major was spotted in a walking boot down in Orlando, still battling an ankle injury that kept him out of the Sooners’ season finale versus Texas Tech. Major was Oklahoma’s third leading running back this season with 227 yards and four touchdowns on the ground this year. He’ll be a big loss considering the Sooners will already be without their leading rusher Eric Gray who declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, and will likely have to lean on freshman Jovantae Barnes to take on a majority of the workload out of the backfield.