Dillon Gabriel gets Marcus Mariota seal of approval amid transfer to Oregon

Dillon Gabriel announced his transfer to Oregon from Oklahoma for his final year of college football and he’ll honor Ducks legend Marcus Mariota.

Gabriel, who wore No. 8 with Oklahoma, will don the same number next season for Oregon. That’s been Mariota’s number throughout his career and the same jersey number he wore when he won the Heisman Trophy with the Ducks.

The former No. 2 overall pick in 2015 gave the approval for Gabriel to rock the jersey next fall.

“MARCUS APPROVED! (eight ball emoji) #DIMETIME,” Gabriel wrote on Twitter.

The connection between Gabriel and Mariota is deeper than just Oregon. The two quarterbacks are some of the most talented signal callers to come out of the state of Hawaii.

Oregon did wonders for Mariota, who’s currently the backup quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and also in his ninth season in the NFL.

He won a Heisman in Eugene and current Ducks quarterback Bo Nix is a finalist for this year’s award. Perhaps Gabriel’s sixth season could lead to that success.

Committing to Oregon makes it a third school for Gabriel throughout his career. Everything began at UCF before entering the portal the first time. Originally heading to UCLA, Oklahoma and former OC Jeff Lebby was able to bring him to Norman for two seasons.

This past season, Gabriel had arguably his best season. He finished with 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 69.3% completion percentage,  373 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Over the course of his career, Gabriel has 14,865 yards, 125 touchdowns, 26 interceptions, a 63.1% completion percentage, 1,060 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns.

As a member of the Class of 2019, Gabriel was a three-star recruit out of Mililani (Hawaii) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 7 overall prospect in the state, the No. 44 quarterback in the class and the No. 680 overall prospect in the class.

Mariota is one of the best college quarterbacks in recent memory and his final season led him to immense heights. In 2014, he finished with 4,454 yards, 42 touchdowns, four interceptions, a 68.3% completion percentage, 770 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.

Can Gabriel replicate those numbers? It remains to be seen, but he’ll have a shot with a loaded roster next fall.