In this day and age of college football, it's nothing for a dynamic quarterback to leave a team and find his way to a national title contender, hoping he'll be the difference in having a very good, to great season. A place like Oregon seems to embrace that with relaxed transfer rules and a robust name, image and likeness program.
Last season, it was Auburn transfer Bo Nix who nearly took the Ducks to the four-team College Football Playoff. He was in the Heisman conversation all season, and although Oregon ultimately missed out on making the playoff, he was still a difference-maker that nearly dropped in and saved the day.
This year, it appears as though Oregon is doubling down by luring Oklahma transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel to Eugene to add a little spice to the offense, and wise guys are taking notice. In fact, so far, the former Sooner is getting a lot of love when it comes to preseason Heisman odds.
Currently, according to BetMGM, Gabriel is actually at the very top of the Heisman odds with at +700. That's slightly better than Georgia quarterback Caron Beck at +750. The three rounding out the top five in this very early look are Quinn Ewers of Texas (+1000), Alabama's Jalen Milroe (+1000), and Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart (+1200).
These odds will of course change throughout the course of the season depending on what teams are winning and which player is perceived to be most responsible for it, but right now, Oregon fans have to be excited about what Gabriel can bring.