Dillon Gabriel, Nic Anderson among OU weekly honorees
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, OU racked up a couple of honors from the Big 12 following its win at Tulsa.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel was named Offensive Player of the Week. Wide receiver Nicholas Anderson earned Newcomer of the Week.
Gabriel was brilliant in the 66-17 victory at Tulsa. He completed 28 of 31 passes for 421 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
“I think he’s in a comfort level right now that he wasn’t in this time last year,” offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said. “And he spent a bunch of time in the building last year. He’s spending a ton of time in the building right now. So that part of it hasn’t changed. Again, he had to go through some things last year that were hard. And I think that’s matured him in a way to have a really stern edge about him in how he’s preparing and playing with a chip on his shoulder.”
Anderson’s touchdown ratio cannot get any better. He had three receptions for 120 yards with all three finding the end zone. They were the first three touchdowns of his career.
“It was huge for him to just to again, continue to create confidence,” Lebby said. “He’s played well. When he’s been in there, he’s had some production, but just to be able to go play the way he played, proud of him for how he’s playing without the ball in his hands too. People don’t see that a lot but the way this guy plays without the football is impressive and so, again, he’s being rewarded for how he operates every single day.”
Coe hoping for better captain outcome
Defensive tackle Isaiah Coe said he’s honored to be a captain this week. But, man, he’s hoping for a better result than last year.
Coe was a captain for OU’s loss to Baylor in 2022. He gets a chance at redemption with OU’s trip to Cincinnati as Brent Venables continues the weekly captain theme.
Joining Coe at captain this week will be defensive tackle Jordan Kelley, wide receiver Jalil Farooq, running back Marcus Major and kicker Zach Schmit.
OU opens Big 12 play against the Bearcats at 11 a.m. Saturday on FOX.
