UCF QB Dillon Gabriel announces he's transferring

Dillon Gabriel is the first big-name quarterback on the transfer market.

The UCF QB tweeted Saturday that he would be putting his name in the transfer portal. Gabriel suffered a season-ending collarbone injury against Louisville in September.

Gabriel has been UCF’s starting quarterback since he was a freshman. He played in 26 games over three seasons and finished with 8,041 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. Gabriel completed over 60% of his passes and averaged nearly nine yards an attempt while throwing just 14 interceptions.

Gabriel suffered a fractured clavicle on the team’s last play of the game against Louisville in Week 3. The Knights lost, 42-35, and tried a last-ditch lateral play on the final play of the game. Gabriel ended up with the ball back in his hands during the play and got injured when he was trying to get rid of the ball as he got tackled.

Mikey Keene has been UCF’s starting QB in Gabriel’s absence. Keene has thrown for 1,586 yards in 10 games while Gabriel completed nearly 70% of his passes in three games with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

UCF ended the regular season on Friday with a 17-13 win over South Florida. UCF is 8-4 and will find out its bowl berth next weekend.

Gabriel will be the first of many QB transfers

Expect other quarterbacks to join Gabriel in the transfer market over the coming weeks as the coaching carousel heats up and schools look to improve their quarterback situations. Gabriel will likely have offers from many Power Five schools looking for a quarterback upgrade. He could be joined in the transfer portal in the coming weeks by a player like Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler. The OU QB is now the backup in Norman and his longtime QB coach has said that Rattler will not be at Oklahoma in 2022.